


Honey

by milkhao



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Office, Drama & Romance, Journalism, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:55:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 48
Words: 54,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29318988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkhao/pseuds/milkhao
Summary: "i think...i think that's the cringiest thing you've ever said to me."renjun and jaemin work in the journalism industry, their friendship blossoming through the art of writing. after renjun successfully publishes a book, everyone seems to be to be happy for him except for one.also on wattpad: @-milkygcf
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Kim Jungwoo/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to 'Honey'!

working was hard enough, but working with other people was even harder. when renjun was in school for this, he thought he would be able to work from home or at least make his own schedules as an author. he knows now that those were complete lies but, what could he do about it now?

he worked inside a large office building that was as quiet as a library. that also meant it was always boring. nothing ever good happened in the office and he could never finish any of the stories he was writing. not to mention his other 2 colleagues he shared an office room with would also annoy the hell out of him.

"hey, could you two discuss this another time? i'm trying to concentrate." renjun asked the two males in front of him.

"since when were you so invested in your job?"

"haechan, im serious." renjun sighed, crumbling yet another story idea before tossing it in the trash under his desk. before haechan could reply back with another smart remark, their boss walked in.

"everytime i come up to this floor, i always here talking in here. i never see any progress from any of you." the three males held their heads low.

"sorry, sir." jeno spoke on behalf of them all.

"get yourselves together. we have our manuscript editors are coming in tomorrow. and they can't read your work if you don't have any."

"yes, mr. seo." haechan said sarcastically. fortunately, their boss just left with a nod and continued to bother the other people on their floor.

the building was always panicked whenever the editors would come in to check their progress. it wasn't like they were the CEO's of the place or anything. renjun just guessed it was because it showed their laziness. he wasn't too worried about it though.

"what are you guys going to do?" jeno asked, worry evident in his voice.

"i don't know, but our shift ends in five minutes so ill see you guys tomorrow." haechan said, picking up his things before leaving.

renjun sat there for a bit as jeno packed his things. usually he would so worried about the editors coming but he wasn't this time. maybe it would hit him tomorrow morning but as of now, he was as careless as haechan was.

"you coming?"

renjun nodded as he grabbed his bag and walked out with jeno. the two lived in the same apartment complex so this was a routine for them to walk home together.

"you don't seem as worried as usual." jeno said breaking the silence.

"you're right," renjun huffed, "i'm not."

"that's good. they don't seem to care when we don't have any work anyways, so it doesn't matter." renjun knew jeno was trying to comfort him and he appreciated it. though, he was serious about this job. he didn't just become an author because it was 'easy'. he was serious about this, but writers block was a bitch.

"thanks, jeno. but i just feel so—"

"disappointed?"

"yeah.." renjun looked at jeno who nodded knowingly. today was no different than any other day.

the two males walked into their apartment and parted ways as they went to their own floors. when renjun finally came inside, he immediately kicked off his shoes and set down his bag. he changed into his pajamas, not bothering to shower, and laid in his bed. he always told himself he would take one in the morning but he was always either too tired or he was running late.

when morning came, renjun woke up comfortably instead of forced. it was a weird start since that beveled happened but he didn't think too much of it since he didn't want to be late yet again. he headedinto the bathroom and took a shower, changing into a white button up and jeans. skipping breakfast, he left quickly. he never had time to eat breakfast anyways.

as the male rushed inside of the tall building, taking the elevator up to his floor, he realized it was almost empty. how strange. he thought. continuing to his office room, he found that jeno and haechan weren't there. was he early?

"renjun? you're early." his boss said, answering his question.

"yeah..i guess i am."

"well great. the editors came just 20 minutes before, so you're just in time. come with me, please." he said. renjun gulped. usually, one of the editors would come into their office room and ask if they had any work for him. when they didn't, he would leave. renjun had never been early before, but he hated it already.

renjun waited in the hallway while his boss, johnny, went inside of one of the rooms to check if one of the two editors were available. that's when that familiar panic hit renjun just as he predicted the night before. at least he knew editor. it was always that same editor named mark. the other editor would only work on different floor.

"alright," johnny said coming out of the room, "mr. lee is currently busy with a client, but mr. na is available."

now it was time to panic again. had he spoken too soon? not only was he going to talk one on one with the editor. but he hasn't made any progress, and he doesn't even know who it is now.

"okay.." renjun walked inside the room and met with another male who looked around his age, sitting at a desk.

"hello, renjun. my name is jaemin." he greeted as he stood. renjun extended his hand, the other gladly took it.

"nice to meet you, sir." renjun bowed slightly before sitting down.

"johnny told me you haven't officially written a completed story yet, correct?" jaemin asked.

"y-yes, sir."

"but he did give me a few of these stories you started. though they were all crumbled." jaemin said the last part quietly, almost as if he was talking to himself.

"crumbled? i thought i threw them out." renjun frowned. jaemin didn't reply as first as he was organizing the papers in his hands.

"why? they each start off really well." renjun's eyes widened at the other's words.

"p-pardon?"

"you seem surprised?" jaemin cocked a brow, "you're really talented. i would love to know what happens with either one of these stories you decide to finish." he returned the papers to the older.

"thank you, sir. but...i can't finish these no matter how hard i try."

jaemin smiled, catching renjun off guard. he looked so stern at first but his smile made him relax a little more.

"instead of writing exactly what you want, write what you feel in the flow of writing. you might even include your own thoughts a bit but that's what makes it your story." jaemin advised, his eyes cutting up to meet the older's. renjun's face heated up, too afraid to look away.

"thank you, ill do my best." renjun bowed before leaving. when he was finally in the hallway, he sighed in relief. he was not going to that editor's office ever again. he just had to wait until next time when mark would be free again. he couldn't handle the way the younger stared at him.


	2. Chapter 2

after that morning, renjun just wanted to go home. and to his luck, he worked a later shift. a few coworkers lingered around the office as well, but other than that it was empty. jeno and haechan were long gone so renjun had their office to himself.

taking jaemin's advice into consideration, renjun decided to finish one of the stories he had trashed before. so far, he was pretty proud of himself for what he had written. of course he had a few typos here and there, but to correct them was far too much work for him at the moment. why he was suddenly able to write smoothly was beyond him. maybe it was because jeno and haechan were gone.

bringing the male back to reality, someone knocked on his office door before opening it. it was johnny. "renjun? i'm surprised to see you're here so late."

"huh? i work a later shift today." renjun said looking at the time. eleven o'clock!? renjun gasped. how did he even sit there for that long?

"yes you do, but your shift ended at nine thirty. no worries though, im glad to see you're working. we're shutting down the office soon so wrap it up." johnny said as renjun nodded. once he left, renjun printed out what he had typed up before stapling the papers together. collecting his things as usual, renjun left alone this time.

it seemed that renjun and johnny had been the only two left inside the building considering the cold silence. the loud dinging sound from the elevator rang throughout the first floor as renjun stepped off, making his way to the front. just as he was about to push open the glass doors, he was stopped.

"renjun?" the male turned around and his eyes met with his editor.

"mr. na," he bowed.

"it's alright, call me jaemin. you're older anyways." jaemin said as the two left the dimly lit building.

"what are you doing here so late?" renjun asked. he wasn't too keen on the idea of fraternizing at the moment, considering his exhaustion. though he wanted to be polite.

"i could ask you the same question. i've just been making a few edits to some more scripts." renjun hummed at his answer.

"i've been working as well. on that story you wanted me to finish." renjun saw jaemin smile slightly as they walked.

"how's it going?"

"really well, actually. your advice really helped." renjun replied. the younger's smile only widened as he nodded. renjun couldn't help but stare for little bit before going back to staring at the sidewalk a head of them.

"you live nearby?" jaemin started.

the two continued to talk about miscellaneous things as jaemin walked renjun home. renjun wasn't sure if that was his intention in the first place but whatever the reason, it was yet another kind gesture.

"thank you for walking me here. especially since it's so late."

"of course, i don't mind it. that was a pretty long walk though, i can always give you a ride to work if you need." jaemin offered, looking the older in his eyes. renjun tried to hide his embarrassment as he responded.

"that..that would be nice, thank you.." the two males exchanged numbers, bid their goodbyes, and went their separate ways. jaemin continuing along the sidewalk while renjun went inside his apartment. he decided to take a shower since it was almost midnight and he didn't hesitate to curl up into his bed to go to sleep.

—

it was saturday afternoon. renjun had woken up not too long before, feeling refreshed. he was finally able to get in some more hours of sleep. even though they weren't invited, haechan had shown up with jisung, jeno, and chenle. who were now playing video games on his tv. suddenly renjun's house phone rang loudly from the kitchen, silencing everyone.

"sorry about that, ill be back." renjun left the boys to play.

"hello?" renjun answered, bringing the telephone up to his ear.

"hello, renjun." a deep yet charming voice replied softly.

"oh, jaemin! how are you?"

"i'm doing well, thank you. i was wondering if you wanted to go to one of my work events tomorrow? it's for the editors but we're able to bring another person. i figured you might be interested in some of the things we discuss." jaemin explained, hopefully waiting for the older to reply.

"i'd love to. i really appreciate the invite," renjun said smiling, "okay, see you then. bye." renjun turned around, instantly bumping into someone's chest as he did so.

"jaemin? as in na jaemin?" haechan asked nosily.

"shut your mouth, idiot. what do you know?" renjun rolled his eyes, making his way back to the living room with haechan following close behind.

"that's the name of one of the editors who work on the eighth floor."

"what happened?" jeno asked. chenle and jisung continued yelling and chanting despite what was going on beside them.

"renjuns got a date with our manuscript editor." haechan teased, jeno's mouth formed an 'o' as he looked at renjun for confirmation.

"it's not like that at all. he's inviting me to an event for the editors to attend. so it's obviously for work purposes only."

"it's obviously for work purposes only." haechan mocked childishly.

"must be nice..." jeno thought aloud, "i hope you enjoy yourselves."

"thank you, jeno." renjun said glaring at the tanned male across from him.

"it's not that i don't believe you. it's just that it seems a little sus."

"can we order pizza or something?"

"yeah, i'm hungry." the two high schoolers continued to beg until haechan gave in.

"yeah, sure. i'll go feed these younger idiots so i'll see you later, ren. jeno, you coming?" jeno looked to renjun as if he was asking if he wanted him to stay there with him, but renjun just shook his head and waved him off.

"you guys be safe, okay? don't come back without those two, again." renjun said referring to chenle and jisung. just as the door closed, renjun sighed to himself. this was going to be a long weekend.


	3. Chapter 3

jaemin had just picked up renjun and they were driving to the venue. the car ride was quiet as renjun was panicking and overthinking about everything. was he dressed too casually? too fancy? would he have to speak in front of others? various questions roamed the older's mind. jaemin looked over at him before returning his gaze to the road.

"penny for your thoughts." renjun flinched slightly as he was startled by his deep voice.

"it's nothing. i'm just nervous..." renjun said, rubbing his hands together. jaemin noticed this, reaching over and taking one of his hands.

"that's perfectly normal. don't worry, you won't have to do much. trust me." he said softly. renjun was tense at first, considering his editor had just held his hand. but he relaxed at his words. he just hoped he was right.

when they entered the venue, it was grand and decorated beautifully. it wasn't too fancy nor too casual. neither were the other guest's outfits. renjun didn't know how tense he was until he fully relaxed, letting out a sigh as if he was holding his breath.

jaemin had greeted a few people on their way inside. and just like the latter promised, renjun didn't have to say much when jaemin introduced him.

in the main room, there were books out on display with articles of it's backstory beside it. renjun had assumed they were going to be walking around looking at other people's work but jaemin had other plans. he took him to a room that reminded him of his college life a year ago. a woman stood in the front while there were seats going upwards like a classroom.

"what's this?" renjun whispered, as the woman in the front continued talking to those who sat in front of her.

"they brought famous author's here to give upcoming authors tips on writing. i know you feel troubled when you write so i thought it would be nice if you heard it from professionals. someone with more knowledge than me." jaemin answered. renjun smiled brightly at that and listened to the woman's every word.

when the event was over, jaemin took renjun out to eat. of course, it was late and they haven't eaten all day, but renjun still felt as if he was being spoiled. they stopped at a korean barbecue and hung out there even after they ate.

"jaemin, i can't thank you enough. not only for today, but for being so kind to me since we've met the other day."

jaemin took a sip of water as he nodded. "i see potential in you, renjun. you're talented and serious about what you do," jaemin then locked eyes with other male before continuing, "i admire that about you."

renjun's heart was warmed by the compliment he received. not only because someone was finally noticing him, his writing, and supporting him. but he felt as though jaemin was looking at him a little differently than before.

"ah, you're being dramatic." renjun shook his head, hiding his red face.

"i'm serious," jaemin laughed, "you're hard working, you speak well, you're funny, you're bound to be successful." he continued.

renjun covered his face as jaemin laughed at the older's flustered state. he loved it. the two continued to laugh and joke around even on their way to renjun's apartment complex.

"your friends sound really crazy!"

"they really are." renjun wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes as he had just finished laughing. no one had made him laughed like that in a while. when the car jerked to a stop, renjun just didn't want the night to end.

"than—"

"nope, stop thanking me!" jaemin interrupted, making renjun laugh for the hundredth time that night, "now go inside and get some rest. tomorrow's monday, i'll pick you up tomorrow?" renjun nodded as he exited the car, waving goodbye as he entered his apartment.

—

renjun was even more determined then before. he made sure everything in his story was perfect. jaemin's words gave him more pride, not to mention the profesional author's who spoke yesterday had given great advice. jeno and haechan took notice of the older's happy aura and his effort in his work.

"i knew it was a date." haechan said to jeno.

"guys it wasn't a date." renjun said trying to focus.

"then why are you all giddy today? it's literally monday," renjun ignored haechan but he didn't stop there, "he kissed you, didn't he?"

renjun almost choked on air, his face heating up just at the sound of that. the idea of kissing jaemin?

"how dare you say that? shut up!" he threw a pen at the tanned male's head.

"he did, didn't he!" haechan stood up, laughing loudly. the whole floor probably knew what was going on by then.

"no we didn't! stop saying that before i get in trouble!" renjun fired back. the clicking sound of the door opening caused the two boys to sit down quickly.

"renjun, may i speak to you?" johnny said. renjun sighed as he went out into the hallway. he felt like he was in high school all over again.

"i heard you and mr.na went out last night. now i'm hearing that you did even more than that?"

"no, no! it's not like that at all— oh, please don't fire me or mr.na i— it was an authors event for work! we didn't do anything more! i'm so sorry, please forgive me! haechan is lying!" renjun dropped down onto his knees, wailing. johnny froze for a minute before bringing the smaller boy back to his feet.

"renjun, i'm not going to fire you. you're the best author we have in this building. i just wanted to clarify the rumors. now don't go thinking it's okay to get too close to someone who is in higher in rank. now get yourself together and i'll let you off early today." renjun nodded, thanking the older as he wiped his face.

"oh, and renjun?" the smaller turned back around, "i don't want you hanging around jaemin. for the sake of our image."


	4. Chapter 4

jeno noticed that renjun was immersed in his work and that scared him. he didn't have any idea of what he could write about that would be book seller worthy. a plot that would catch the reader's attention. this sort of thing always stressed him out. since renjun and haechan were usually on the same boat with him, he didn't feel as pressured and rushed to write. but seeing that renjun was working up a storm across from him, he was worried.

it's not that he didn't want the best for those two, he really cared about them. but it's been jeno's dream for years to release a good book. he wanted to write about something crazy. show the readers what would run through his mind and hook them into the story. but he had done nothing. all his other prompts he came up with, he wasn't confident in. 

it was strange because in college, jeno was always the top of his class. he would even write little stories on the side when he got bored. it was in his blood to become a writer and he wanted everyone to know about it. he didn't just come here to fool around. but as soon as he joined the company, he's been stressed out and he couldn't write anything.

jeno had walked renjun home again that evening. like haechan had said earlier, renjun was very happy when coming into work. now he seemed a little more troubled and tense. whether it was just stress from writing, or something johnny said out in the hallway, jeno didn't know.

"renjun, are you alright? you don't seem as happy as you did this morning." jeno commented.

"i'm just tired i guess. haechan shouldn't have said what he did, i could have gotten in bigger trouble. all jaem— mr.na did was give me advice and help me with my story a little bit. of course i was happy." 

jeno nodded but inside he was questioning many things. renjun had almost called mr. na by his first name. it just seemed a little too casual. not to mention he's giving him tips for his story while he's struggling.

"advice? isn't that against our policies?"

"no, i don't think so. it's his job anyways. plus it was just small things like "don't overthink the dialogue," or, "come up with the main goal of the story and then your climax before writing." renjun explained as the walked up to their apartment building.

that wasn't too much of a suspicion. haechan was suspicious too but about the wrong things for the wrong reasons. jeno wished he had someone who would give him some tips, he really needed it. so he made sure to take mental notes of what renjun said. 

it seemed like their roles had changed since college. renjun was usually the one who struggled with writing stories while jeno was a little more advanced in that category. other than that, renjun was also one of the ones who were top of their class as well. 

jeno didn't want to think about it anymore, he was stressed out and worried enough about his career more than anything. so he just went to bed and hoped for the best like always. an idea just had to hit him, even if it kept him up all night.

—

renjun was very cautious when walking around the office now. johnny had told him to stay away from jaemin when it came to any other interactions that weren't work related. he knew that if he saw jaemin, it wouldn't be that way at all. the two males had only met each other in the span of five days and they were already so comfortable and casual with one another.

if johnny saw that, it would be over for him. he could kiss that amazing storyline goodbye. shaking off the thought, renjun focused his mind on the fact that he had a meeting. meetings were boring and awkward but this time he was excited.

there were two kinds of meetings here. the one with those who have been making progress and they talk about their plans for their future with what they're working with now. and then there's the one with those who haven't done anything and johnny just rubs it in their faces. renjun has only been to a few meetings in his time here, but he has only been to one kind and it wasn't fun.

when he walked into his office room to see his usual two colleagues, he didn't even bother to sit down. he began unpacking a little and taking his stapled stack of papers before heading back towards the door.

"wait, where are you going?" haechan asked.

"i have a meeting." 

"the meeting isn't until nine thirty." 

"mine is an hour earlier than yours." renjun said shortly before leaving.

haechan shook his head, sighing, "i don't like this at all." he said and jeno agreed, "mr. na is definitely meeting up with him and stealing our time with our friend!" jeno's brows furrowed. that was the least of his concerns and definitely not what was going on at all. 

"haechan, what are you talking about? he does actually have a meeting right now since he has a story to show our managers." jeno tried to explain but haechan wasn't buying it, "what have you been doing anyway? there isn't anything on your document but i always see you typing." 

jeno glanced over at the tanned male's computer screen. he was right, there was nothing on his page but he also noticed another tab open. when jeno reached over to click on it, haechan tried to stop him.

"h-hey! what are you doing?" he tried pushing jeno off but the second tab had already opened. jeno didn't even know what to say. 

"are you serious?"

"you made me burn my pizzas, asshole." haechan rolled his eyes as he continued playing that game that brought back school memories. 

jeno sighed shaking his head. it felt like he was the only one here. he didn't even understand why haechan was here but he obviously had no interest in writing. he used to be able to relate and talk to renjun but ever since mr. na met with him on friday, it felt like jeno was left alone.


	5. Chapter 5

jaemin hadn't seen renjun that whole week after monday morning, when he brought the male to work. it was almost like cinderella except he hadn't left anything behind. jaemin found himself snooping around the floors more often now that renjun wasn't anywhere to be seen.

he stopped after he figured it was probably best this way. he was his editor after all. besides, he would end up seeing the other male in a few weeks since he worked on their floor next friday. him and his partner, mark. jaemin would just have to wait for friday.

while renjun worked on the fourth floor, jaemin worked on the eighth. him and the all the other manuscript editors. they were currently having a meeting about what they've read from some of the upcoming authors.

"jaemin, i heard you've been working with renjun?" lucas asked.

"yes, i have. i met with him last friday and he came to me with a half written story." jaemin said. of course only half of that was true.

"and how was it?"

"it was amazing. like i told you earlier he is really talented. i want to help him publish his story. last time i checked, he's been working on it for weeks now." everyone looked at each other, nodding.

"when he finishes the story and you edit it, that's going to be a while until he comes to you with the final copy," lucas said, "but when he does, i would be happy to help him publish it." jaemin smiled widely at that.

"it's settled then. now who will be going to the fourth floor to read their drafts tomorrow?" mark asked.

johnny, who led all the meetings, looked around the small group until his eyes landed on another one of their publishers. sicheng.

"sicheng? do you want to go to the fourth floor tomorrow?" johnny asked.

"sure..i don't mind." he said softly. everyone's gaze softened as they looked at sicheng with admiration.

"okay, so jaemin and sicheng are working tomorrow. mark and lucas, you two are off. you can all go home." johnny dismissed. the four boys stood, bowing and bidding their goodbyes before leaving.

—

friday came fast for renjun. not that he was complaining. the week went by well despite starting off on the wrong foot on monday. he was getting through each of the chapters of his story so smoothly, he couldn't help but he proud of himself. he could use a break after working so hard. he even stayed up at night to finish writing because he was so eager.

renjun walked in to his usual office. he was early again so he didn't expect jeno to be there. "good morning, renjun." jeno smiled, his eyes disappearing.

"good morning! you're here early." renjun sat down.

"yeah, i figured i needed that extra push so i can get some work done. all i have is time." jeno said andrenjun agreed. the two began typing and writing away quietly as time slowly passed. suddenly the door was slammed open, startling both of them,

"shit, i'm sorry guys," haechan said running in, "damn i'm so late!" he groaned. his light brown hair was sticking out in all different directions and his buttons weren't all closed.

before any of them could reply to the younger, johnny walked in. his face full of concern, "what the hell happened in here?"

haechan bowed quickly as he buttoned up his shirt, "good morning, sir. i'm sorry i'm late. and for making all that noise." he said.

johnny stared at the tanned boy before he sighed, "renjun, jeno, you two have meetings with the editors," the two boy and stood, "jeno, you'll go to mr. dong's office and you'll go to mr.na's office. eighth floor." johnny explained before leaving.

jeno and renjun made their way to the eighth floor and went to their assigned places. renjun knocked, taking a deep breath before the door opened revealing jaemin who looked more serious than he remembered.

"good morning, mr.na." renjun bowed. jaemin raised his eyebrow in confusion. before he let the older inside his office, he looked around to see if he was acting strange because someone was near. but there was no one else there.

renjun sat down across from jaemin and handed him his story, "i've gotten a lot done, sir. i should be wrapping it up pretty soon." he said.

jaemin slowly took the papers out of his hands before skimming through the stack. "what's bothering you, handsome?" jaemin asked, his eyes not leaving the papers in his hands. renjun bit his lip nervously, his face turning beet red.

"nothing...nothing's bothering me, sir. i'm perfectly fine. now about my work," renjun gulped, "what do you think?"

jaemin placed the papers down. he wanted to continue to question renjun since he made it clear that something happened, but he knew how much this meant to him. that was what was important right now. besides, he wasn't his therapist.

"it's getting even better than before," jaemin smiled to ease the tension, "it'll surely hook your readers into the plot. and toy with their emotions a little too."

"thank you, sir." renjun bit back his smile.

"i talked to my colleagues earlier. about you and your story," renjun's eyes widened, "our publisher is willing to work with you as well, so that you can really show the world your talent."

"did you really?" renjun's eyes lit up like a child on christmas. jaemin nodded, his smile not leaving his face as he scanned the other.

"thank you so much! i— i don't know what to say...i'll work harder, sir. i promise." renjun blabbered.

"excellent. now answer me this," jaemin started, "what happened?"

renjun couldn't help but wonder how jaemin knew something was wrong. was it because he avoided him? or was he just reading him like an open book? whatever the reason was, renjun didn't care. he just couldn't tell jaemin what happened. it was too embarrassing.

"like i said before, sir, nothing—"

"renjun, i am your manager now. i told you before to drop the honorifics, i don't care what anyone else says. now answer my question." jaemin interrupted, his voice was deep, stern, and...sexy—

renjun squeezed his eyes shut, slapping his cheek slightly as he tried to shake of the thought about his manager's voice.

"right, um...my colleagues heard about the event in sunday and one of them started some dumb rumor," renjun looked up at the younger only to find him staring right back at him. renjun quickly averted his gaze, "uh..mr.seo heard and assured me that everything was fine but..." his voice trailed.

"what did he say to you?"

"he told me to stay away from you. for the sake of our company. our image."


	6. Chapter 6

jaemin was livid. he had tried to conceal his anger as best as he could when he assured renjun that everything was going to be fine. he just wanted him to focus on his writing and not stress himself out worrying about that. as soon as jaemin finished his work with the fourth floor, he went straight to johnny's office. without even knocking, he opened the door.

"jaemin?"

"listen to me, don't say anymore nonsense to my client ever again. as an upcoming writer, they face enough stress and you're making it worse and causing a distraction." jaemin hovered over johnny's desk.

"what are you talking about, jaemin? please understand that—" 

"i understand you care about our image, mr.seo. it is important but so are our workers. i notice that what you said to my client, affected him which can affect his work. keep this up, no one is going to be getting anything done. our company will be seen as cold hearted upperclassmen whose workers do a half ass job," johnny blinked, "if that's the image you're striving for. keep it up, because you're doing a great job."

to say the least, jaemin was pretty proud of himself for what he said to johnny. not only that, but he did it for renjun. glancing at the time, jaemin walked down to the fourth floor and just as he had guessed, renjun was on his way out.

"hello, renjun." jaemin said, watching the older boy bow before him. 

"hello, sir. what are you doing here?" he asked. jaemin followed renjun into the elevator.

"i wanted to give you a ride home and tell you that i handled the situation." jaemin explained, expecting to see the older relax but he did the complete opposite.

"what? why would you do that? he's only gonna pester me more! how can you risk your job like—" the elevator stopped, ringing out loudly. renjun hushed himself as they entered the first floor since there were people at the front desk as well as people in the waiting areas. 

"renjun i didn't talk about you specifically. i didn't say you were complaining or anything like that. i told him to watch his words or else it will affect the whole company. it'll stress them out and it will show in their work and that will be our new image." jaemin explained as briefly as he could. renjun nodded slowly.

"i appreciate you looking out for me, jaemin." renjun smiled softly. jaemin returned the smile, relieved he was able to get through to the other male. the two walked out to jaemin's car and relaxed during the ride to renjun's apartment complex. just as renjun got out, jaemin rolled down his window.

"hey," he said causing the other to turn around, "wear something nice. i'll pick you up at seven." jaemin pulled off before renjun could react. when he looked at the time, he panicked as he went inside. five thirty? he needed to pick his outfit.

—

"where are we going?"

"don't worry, i'm not taking you to the middle of nowhere to murder you or anything." jaemin chuckled but renjun just glanced at him, "what?"

"that was oddly specific." jaemin began to protest against the older as renjun laughed.

"i'm kidding, i'm kidding." he said. he found it hilarious at how worked up jaemin got whenever it seemed like he was doing something that wouldn't have a good outcome for the other. not only was his reaction funny, but it made renjun feel warm.

"am i dressed too casually?" renjun asked as they walked up to the restaurant. jaemin shook his head, used to renjun panicking over things like this. 

"you're perfect. you look as handsome as always." jaemin complimented, smirking when he noticed the other's face heating up. the two were seated and they ordered there food. renjun scanned the place, enjoying it's ambience.

"thank you for bringing me here." he said, jaemin hummed. shortly after, their food arrived and they began cooking in the small stove. the only thing that could be heard from their table was the sizzling from the meat. 

the sound covered up the comfortable silence. after renjun stole some meat straight off the stove, jaemin leaned in. the older male froze, as he inched closer. reaching his napkin up to his face before wiping it.

"there," jaemin grinned, "all gone."

it took renjun a while to come back from his daze when he did, he laughed at how cute jaemin's response was. 

"already making cliche romance moves on me, huh?" 

"confident are we? you sound disappointed, but your smile says otherwise." jaemin replied. renjun just giggled. he knew all of this was wrong and johnny would be beyond mad if he saw the two males hanging out yet again. 

but jaemin was not only motivating renjun, but making him happy. and because of that, nothing and no one else mattered to the older male whenever the two would laugh, tell stories, and eat amazing food during evenings like these. renjun loved it.


	7. Chapter 7

"i knew it!" 

haechan said as he stood up abruptly. jeno and renjun didn't bother to ask haechan about it. it was their week off and they just wanted to relax.

"i told you it would be a bad idea to invite him." chenle said beside them. haechan gave the younger a glare before further explaining what he discovered. despite no one asking.

"you hung out with that guy again, the editor, even after johnny told you not to." now haechan had renjun's attention. the tanned male smirked at that.

"who told you that?"

"chenle works at that restaurant now, remember? i always pick him up." renjun facepalmed. how could he forget? haechan tsked as he sat back down.

"at least take some interest into your friends." 

renjun didn't reply but the younger's words caught him off guard. he has been really busy with his work lately, and when he did have free time he spent it with jaemin. renjun felt guilt wash over him. he really hasn't payed much attention to his friends.

renjun knew he had to change things, he cared about these four idiots too much to just not do anything. standing up, renjun walked over to the door and put his shoes on, "come on," he said, grabbing his car keys.

jisung and chenle didn't even question it, they just put on their shoes and followed renjun to the door. "where are we going?" jeno questioned.

"i'm taking you guys out today. i've been so caught up with work and—"

"mr. na" 

"yeah," renjun shot a glance at haechan, "i haven't spent much time with the people i love and truly care about. so let's go shopping at the mall and i'll buy you guys anything you want." renjun smiled as he watched their faces light up with excitement. all except haechan. 

the mischievous male narrowed his eyes, stepping towards the older, "you think you can just use money to manipulate us? to use as affection? buy our hearts?" everyone grew quiet, looking at renjun for a reply.

"yes?"

"intellectual, let's go." haechan said, leading them out. chenle's dolphin like laughter blared throughout the hallway as jisung covered his sensitive ears.

"this is absolute chaos." jeno sighed and renjun agreed.

—

even though renjun was glad he got to spend time with his friends and make them happy. seeing how much stuff he bought for the boys and how much he had spent, he regretted his decision.

"ah, i should have just taken you guys to see a movie or something." renjun sighed, running his fingers through his bangs. 

"don't worry, i'll be playing this game for a long time so your money didn't go to waste." chenle laughed.

"i'm glad we could spend time together again," jeno started and they all agreed, "just like old times."

once they arrived back to renjun's apartment, they ordered pizza and decided to choose a movie to watch. 

"memoirs of a geisha!" renjun picked, the others groaning. of course it was renjun's favorite movie, but the others hated it. 

"no, we watched that last time." jisung protested.

"fine, infinity war it is." renjun rolled his eyes.

the group sat silently, cuddled up on the couch, some on the floor. their eyes wide and fixated on the screen before them. renjun on the other hand, brought out his laptop and began working. the loud sound of his typing caught jisung's attention.

"can you like - be more quiet?" renjun exhaled, laughing a bit at the youngest male's cute charms. he gave him a nod though when he began working again, it was jeno who stopped him.

"you're working again?" he asked.

"yeah, i only have one more chapter to write," renjun squealed in excitement, "i only need a thousand words." 

"a thousand words!" haechan was soon shushed by chenle and jisung who continued to watch the movie, "come on, renjun. it's our week off. do half of it now and do the rest at work." renjun agreed, turning back to his laptop.

renjun had written a little more than half but he was glad he got it out of the way. when he closed his laptop, he was met with two sleeping faces sprawled out on the floor.

"the babies are asleep," renjun simpered.

"m'gonna go home..." haechan yawned, rubbing his tired eyes. jeno doing the same as he watched jisung and chenle sleep peacefully.

"no, don't. you guys can just sleep here, yeah? you're all tired anyways." haechan nodded in agreement, leaning his head on renjun's shoulder once he sat down. jeno made himself comfortable lying on the couch as well, his head in haechan's lap. and that's how they fell asleep.

—

"you can't just make excuses for your blatant disregard of bureaucracy, mr. na. i told renjun to keep away from you already!" 

"and i told him not to." jaemin sassed. johnny sighed, shaking his head. he could never win with this one.

"what work does he have anyways? you're always talking about the story his writing and i've seen nothing so—"

"jaemin! i—" renjun ran into the office, a stack of papers in his extended hand. he soon paused as he noticed johnny standing there. johnny glared at jaemin, after renjun's words.

"jaemin?" he asked. jaemin smirked, knowing that johnny wasn't too fond of renjun calling his manuscript editor by his first name. it seemed too casual and too close.

"that's right." he walked over to renjun, taking the stack of papers from his grasp. that smirk never leaving his lips.

"what is it, handsome?" he whispered, renjun blushing in return.

"i- uh...i finished the story." he said sheepishly. jaemin's sly smirk turned into a wide grin.

"did you?" renjun nodded as the younger flipped through the pages, "that's amazing. you see? i knew you could do it. i'll start editing immediately." he smiled, turning back to his desk. jaemin's eyes locked with johnny's. the younger's gaze almost threatening, almost like he was testing him to see what he was going to say next.

"i'm proud to see you advancing, renjun. when you do publish it, it's going to be hard to get noticed at first, but i wish you luck." johnny said shaking the smaller male's hand.

"thank you, sir!"


	8. Chapter 8

"this is harder than i thought..." renjun sighed, resting his head in his hand. 

he had rewritten his story so many times that he could tell the story backwards. he didn't even feel like publishing it anymore. after jaemin edited the first draft, all he does is continue to correct more things in every single paragraph and it drove the older male insane. 

after finalizing the chapter he was told to edit, renjun made his way to jaemin's office. when he walked in, the younger was standing beside his desk. leaning on it as he reached for the papers renjun brought him. 

"here, if it needs more editing, just keep it. i'm tired of this." renjun said, throwing himself in the chair across from the younger.

jaemin chuckled knowingly as he went to sit at his desk. he knew this was going to happen sooner or later. putting on his glasses, he took a pen and began going through the story yet again. ready to correct any typos, circle run on sentences, and write notes in the margins.

"you think you're tired of it? i've read this more times than you have." jaemin said.

"i bet i could read it backwards." renjun murmured and jaemin smirked, looking up at the older through his specs.

"is that a challenge?" renjun giggled in response as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"i'm serious, jaemin! i can't take it anymore." jaemin frowned. he knew renjun was giving up on publishing the story, but he wasn't going to let him do that. no matter how boring the storyline might seem to him now, he would regret not publishing it later on.

"you've worked so hard to get here, renjun-ah. i know you're tired but i'm not going to let you give up." jaemin put renjun's stack of papers into his filing cabinet. the older just watched as jaemin took his bag, walking over to him and offered his hand.

"where are we going?" renjun asked, taking his hand anyway. jaemin smiled before he answered, squeezing his hand softly.

"you trust me, right?" he asked, pulling renjun up to his feet. renjun eyed the younger suspiciously before nodding.

"good."

—

renjun had followed jaemin out to his car yet again. he just thought jaemin was going to treat him to some food, or take him home. but his eyebrows knitted together as he watched the car pass his apartment complex.

"jaemin, wha—"

"i thought you trusted me." jaemin teased, his lips curling into a mischievous grin.

"i do! it's just..." the older's voice trailed off. jaemin reached over, placing his hand on renjun's smaller one. renjun blushed, before he could say anything else, they pulled up to a luxurious home.

jaemin exited the car, going around to renjun's side to let him out. renjun was entranced by the beautifully lit house in front of him. his eyes sparkled with its reflection. jaemin lead the older inside and just as renjun thought he couldn't be more surprised, he was even more surprised.

"you like it?" jaemin asked, looking down at the older.

"i think i'm going to faint." renjun said meeting his eyes.

"this is my house," jaemin chuckled, "it's only temporary, but make yourself comfortable." 

renjun continued to look around as jaemin gave him a small, quick tour of his mini mansion. it wasn't that big, but it was big enough. plus, the riches inside made up for its size.

"do as you please. i'll be right back." jaemin smiled as he disappeared upstairs. 

renjun just nodded slowly as he walked around alone. he was going to sit down on the couch and wait for the younger to return, but something caught his eyes. 

cookies.

renjun's mouth watered at the thought of eating something so rich, sweet, and delicious. not only was he hungry, but he hasn't eaten anything sweet in a long time. not to mention how perfect they would be to cure his stress. he didn't want to be rude, and he isn't someone who is rude. but renjun really wanted those cookies. they were calling his name and he just couldn't resist. 

"maybe just one..." he whispered, a small smile creeping onto his lips. carefully, renjun opened the plastic lid and took one of the colorfully decorated sugar cookie. he bit into, sighing in delight at its soft exterior and sweet flavor. it felt like heaven, and heaven it truly was.

"is it good?" renjun flinched, turning around to meet jaemin's stupid smirk.

"j-jaemin! i—...it's not what it looks like." he mumbled as he continued to eat the cookie, crumbs on the side of his mouth. jaemin couldn't help but laugh at how cute he looked.

"really? because it looks like you just stole my cookies." jaemin said walking closer. renjun's body froze as the two were now inches apart. leaning down, jaemin gently reached his hand up to renjun's face. renjun just stood there, wide eyed and nervous. 

jaemin dusted the crumps off of his now reddened cheeks as he grinned, "all gone!" he said.

renjun blinked back into reality, "stop doing that!" he swat the younger away. jaemin just laughed as he tried to dodge renjun's flailing arms. 

"it's okay, renjun-ah. i got them for you anyways." jaemin giggled, "now, i ran you a warm bath upstairs. i know how stressed out you are, and i figured you would enjoy a bath." renjun smiled, nodding as jaemin lead him upstairs into the grand bathroom. 

just like the rest of the house, the bathroom was absolutely amazing. not to mention the giant bathtub, stairs in front of it, filled with bubbles.

"who even are you? how can you afford this stuff?" renjun thought aloud.

"just an editor." he chuckled, "i gave you something to wear on the counter. call me if you need anything." he turned to leave.

"jaemin?" the younger faced renjun again, raising his brow.

"thank you..." 

—

while renjun was having the time of his life in the bathroom, jaemin went downstairs to call lucas. his excitement getting the best of him as he smiled widely at the thought of renjun's reaction.

"hello?" a deep voice answered on the other line.

"lucas, we're ready. i'll give you the story tomorrow."


	9. Chapter 9

renjun finished his bath and slipped into the silk pajama set that jaemin had laid out for him. just a simple blue shirt and pant set. the older male almost forgot about all of his worries after that bath. jaemin could see that too. just by the way renjun happily walked down the stairs to meet him in the living room, a soft smile on his face.

"enjoyed yourself?" jaemin asked, returning the older's smile.

"it was lovely," he replied, "but now i want to finish those cookies you bought me. i mean it would be rude if i let them go to waste." jaemin laughed as renjun made his way towards the cookies yet again.

of course jaemin was happy to see renjun happy. but his smile soon faded as he looked down at his expensive leather shoes. renjun quickly took notice to this and mirrored his frown.

"what's the matter?" he asked. jaemin met his gaze, smiling again before he sat beside renjun on the couch.

"nothing's wrong. i'm just tired." he lied. jaemin was far from tired after drinking six ups of black iced coffee with four shots of expresso. he was probably more worried about renjun's book than renjun actually was. as an editor, of course he wants success for all of those upcoming stories that he edits, but being an author was hard.

two out of every two hundred manuscripts they receive get published. getting your work noticed was around 1% of that if you're lucky. not to mention it takes a while to even get it published. lucas had said it can take up to a year to get renjun's book published, but it could also take up to three weeks.

"are you sure?" renjun asked, softly. he waved his hand in front of the younger to knock him from his trance. once jaemin came back to his senses, he nodded.

when jaemin planned this for the older, he was going to take renjun back to his apartment complex but he just couldn't. he would get in so much trouble if johnny knew that renjun came over his house, took a bath, and spent the night. even the way he looked at the older was just so dangerous. but jaemin was too lovestruck to care.

"no, it's alright, jaemin." renjun yawned, rubbing his eyes, "i can just go back home, i'll be fine. you've done enough for me." renjun was being honest. he felt as if he was being spoiled with the way jaemin treated him like a prince. letting him take a bath and stay to watch a movie. but to stay the night was a whole other thing. he was also nervous that the office would find out.

"i don't care what you say, renjun-ah. i have a beautiful guest bedroom just waiting for you to sleep on!~" jaemin sang cheerfully as he lead renjun down the hall.

when renjun saw the room, he knew he was surely staying. the bed looked like it belonged to royalty. he didn't think he deserved this, but jaemin insisted. the older didn't argue any longer as he made himself comfortable on the neatly made bed. and jaemin just watched adoringly.

"if you need me, you know what to do. goodnight." he said deeply, shutting the door behind himself. 

—

renjun was thankful it was the weekend. he woke up feeling the best he's ever felt. jaemin even made him breakfast and packed his clothes from the day before, then driving him back to his apartment. before renjun could get out of the car after they parked, jaemin stopped him.

"renjun, i want to tell you something," he gulped, "now i know work is the last thing you wanna here about on a saturday. but i called lucas yesterday to talk about your story." renjun's eyes widened.

"w-what did he say?"

"well...he said it will be officially published in four to five weeks. it's still being transferred onto a final copy and such. but i wanted to let you know so you know that i'm not lying when i tell you that you're truly gifted." jaemin finished, looking up to meet the older's doe like eyes. even though lucas had told him that, he was still as nervous as ever. he wanted everything to be perfect for renjun.

expecting the male to shout, thank him, or squeal, jaemin was surprised when he heard soft cries emit from the smaller boy as he covered his face.

"renjun? why are you crying?" jaemin asked frantically, his eyes full of concern and sadness seeing the older like this.

renjun tried to wipe his tears but they just kept falling. he opened his mouth to tell jaemin how thankful he was to him, but no words came out. his throat was just laced with his cries, his eyes puffy from all the tears that he had shed. seeing renjun trying his best to voice out an answer, jaemin just pulled him in for a hug.

"it's okay. i understand completely." he comforted, gently rubbing circles on his back. 

jaemin just hated seeing renjun cry, even if he knew it was out of joy. he didn't lie when he had said he understood everything despite the male not saying anything. he was just caught up in happiness, overwhelmed with joy, maybe even a little nervous. but jaemin knew it all and renjun didn't have to say a thing.

"thank you, jaemin," he mumbled into jaemin's chest, "really, thank you.


	10. Chapter 10

fear was the worst type of feeling for anything. it made you feel vulnerable like you just wanted to curl up in a ball and die. that's exactly what renjun wanted as he walked into the office that morning. yeah he was nervous about his book, but he was more scared of people finding out that he spent the night with his manuscript editor. it wasn't anything weird but people might think they did more.

"renjun?" renjun looked around until he met eyes with jeno, "why are you so tense?" he asked as the two boarded the elevator.

"am i really that tense?" renjun whispered.

"yeah, like you have a stick up your ass."

renjun rolled his eyes. he figured telling jeno wouldn't be much of a big deal since they're friends and they've known each other since middle school. plus, he had to tell somebody about the other day. he was obviously bothered by the fact that people could find out.

"jeno, i need to talk to you." renjun sighed. jeno just nodded slowly as the older took jeno into the bathroom. when they got inside, renjun locked the door and began checking the stalls to see if anyone was there.

"renjun, what the hell? are you being followed or something?" 

"no, jeno. just listen," renjun gulped, "i spent the night at mr. na's house on friday." renjun pressed his lips into a thin line, regretting his words. judging by jeno's expression, he clearly thought he was talking about something else.

"not like that! i mean he brought me over to watch a movie and just relax since i've been stressed out lately. i just slept in a different bedroom and he took me home the next morning." jeno's mouth formed an 'o' as he nodded.

"so you're scared people are going to find out and think somethings going on between you two?"

"yes! exactly. i just had to get it off my chest. my book will be published in a couple of weeks and i don't need any distractions." renjun sighed running his hand through his hair. 

"that's alright. it's no one's business anyway." jeno said and renjun nodded as he left to go back to work.

jeno kept his mouth shut about renjun spending the night with mr. na. he believed the older when he said that they didn't sleep together, but he still thought it was weird. at the same time, jeno didn't really care. his main focus was on the fact that renjun had said his book was being published.

he turned to the sink and took some water onto his hands, wiping his face to wake himself up a little. he couldn't help but think he was a failure. sure he's written hundreds of stories, gotten them edited, and such. but never in his life has he ever been lucky enough to get it published.

jeno had let that get to his head for the past few months and now he can barely even get to the third chapter of his stories. how pathetic. he thought. jeno turned his gaze to the person in front of him. his reflection. lifting his fist, jeno punched the mirror. cracking it, but not breaking it completely. 

his knuckles were bruised and slightly bloodied but he couldn't feel or see any of that right now. pushing his bangs back with both of his hands, jeno sighed before leaving the bathroom. he received a couple of stares due to the state his hands were in, but he didn't let it bother him one bit. when he walked into the his shared office room, the two males looked at him immediately.

"jeno! i thought you died or something. you never miss a day at work i was worried sick!" haechan rushed to jeno's side, hugging him. jeno relaxed, returning the gesture before smiling.

"i'm fine, haechan. thank you, though." 

"jeno, your hand." renjun observed. his eyes wide and full of worry. haechan followed the olders stare and his eyes soon widened as well. before he could yell at the older, jeno covered his knuckles with the other hand.

"i just scraped them up a little." he lied. haechan slid his tongue across his inner cheek as he glared at jeno. 

"i know, i know," jeno shut his eyes, looking away, "i need to be more careful." 

renjun appeared in front of the two younger males with a first aid kit. he cleaned up the small cuts before wrapping his knuckles with gauze. he was gentle and careful not to hurt him. 

"please be more careful, jeno." renjun pleaded, looking up at jeno with sadness. he just knew he was lying when he said he scraped them up. jeno struggled in the past with his mental health due to his home life that they all agreed not to talk about anymore. 

it went from terrible depression and anxiety, to just straight anger issues. now that they all have become closer, they make sure to look out for jeno and because of that, jeno has been calm and able to keep his composure. as soon as he walked into that office room, the two could just feel his troubled aura. and then the intimidating look on his face was enough to confirm that there was something wrong.

haechan and renjun looked at each other. that same worried look never leaving their eyes. they both knew they were thinking the same thing about jeno. though, they knew better than to bother him about it. it would only make him hide everything away from them. right now they just had to be there for him and take care of him until he was ready to tell them what was bothering him.

throughout the rest of the day, everything was going smoothly. johnny had told the rest of the office about renjun's book release and they decided that they would throw a surprise party for him. yeah, a few colleagues did find out about mr. na and renjun's innocent little play date even though jeno hasn't said a thing. 

"he slept at his house?" one colleague asked.

"mhm, he's probably using him to get his book published." the other one replied.

"well that's not fair at all, we work our asses off and he gets to publish a book first? disgusting." 

"what's disgusting, doyoung?" johnny asked, walking over to the two males. 

"yuta was just telling me something about renjun. and i think you should know before you let him publish his book."


	11. Chapter 11

jaemin's nerves finally ceased thanks to lucas. he had told the younger that renjun's book was ready to fully be released out into the world. he was completely ecstatic and excited to tell renjun when suddenly he heard a few familiar voices. what caught his attention was the mention of renjun's name.

"i'm listening," johnny said, folding his arms.

"renjun slept with mr. na the other day and now suddenly he's getting his book released? we've been here longer than him and we actually work hard to be here." doyoung ranted. jaemin inhaled sharply, trying to calm himself down before he went over there and did something he would regret. though that didn't mean he wasn't going to go over there at all.

"oh really? don't worry, you know that's completely against our policies here." johnny replied firmly. both yuta and doyoung nodding in agreement. anything to get renjun's book taken away.

"i don't think you know everything, mr. kim" jaemin strides into the room, his hands in his pockets as he glared at the two men before him.

"it's too late. your little secret is out." doyoung said trying to get to jaemin's head, but the younger just kept an annoyed, almost bored, expression on his face.

"it's no secret, mr. kim. most people here already know i take renjun home when we both work late shifts. now before you start spreading false rumors like an immature high schooler, make sure your information is correct," doyoung's mouth opened to reply but jaemin wasn't done, "you aren't as innocent as you make yourself out to be. bribing our publishers to get not one, but three of your books published in a day." 

jaemin smirked as he watched how doyoung panicked, glancing over at johnny who was just processing all the newly heard information. yuta stepped back away from doyoung, not wanting to be part of the drama that he started any longer.

"mr. na," doyoung cleared his throat awkwardly, "i don't know what you're talking about. let's just put all this behind us, yeah?" he begged, putting on a smile to mask his growing anxiety.

"oh of course, mr. kim. we'll put this behind us right after we clear everything up to our boss here. mr. seo deserves an explanation, don't you think?" jaemin cocked his head to the side in a playful manner. he was enjoying this way too much. 

stepping closer to the older male, jaemin leaned towards doyoung's ear as he whispered, "don't try to lie anymore, mr. kim. sicheng told me all about your attempt." and with that, jaemin bowed giving johnny a smile before leaving. yuta quickly followed, running back to his office. 

—

today was the day renjun was going to release his book and expecting to feel completely excited, renjun felt like he had been hit by a car. it felt like a dream. his emotions were everywhere, overwhelming and consuming him all at once. it was making him feel sick and dizzy. it took him a while to even get out of bed.

as soon as he planted his feet on the cold tile, he ran to the bathroom. when renjun got there, he fell in front of the toilet spilling all of his anxiety. he sat there for a while, cold sweat on his forehead as he tried to steady breathing. he knew he was late but he didn't care. 

finally getting back up, renjun brushed his teeth before getting back into bed. whether johnny liked it or not, renjun just couldn't go to work like this. not with these nerves and definitely not with his sickness. when he reached over to his telephone on the table beside him, it already had rung.

"hello?" renjun answered,

"renjun! are you alright? where are you? are you coming in?" haechan would never hesitate to tease renjun, but when he was worried about the older, he went all out. 

"yes, haechanie. i'm alright. i'm staying home today since i'm not feeling well." renjun heard haechan hum.

"okay, please don't do anything stupid." haechan said before hanging up. renjun smiled as he put the phone back onto the hook.

—

"i'm sorry for causing you and renjun so much trouble. of course i expected some people here to be jealous and try to ruin his opportunity, but it was hard not to believe doyoung when i see some suspicious things myself." jaemin nodded slowly as he watched johnny try to get his thoughts together.

"i trust you, jaemin. both of you. i know you wouldn't just give something to renjun just because of you're friendship. but i also trust that you would tell me the truth if something did happen." johnny raised his eyebrow. jaemin just shook his head and johnny sighed in return.

"well, i wanted to surprise renjun. not only with his book release, but i wanted to throw a party here at the office. it's such a big deal to release a book, plus renjun deserves it after the pressure i've been putting on his back. considering him not coming in today, we only have today to prepare." 

jaemin smiled widely at the idea, "i'll get started immediately, sir. but why isn't he coming in today?" he asked. johnny gave him yet another one of his suspicious glares before answering.

"donghyuck told me he was sick," jaemin tilted his head, "haechan." johnny clarified. 

"now help me start planning." jaemin and johnny finally agreed on something as they left his office together.


	12. Chapter 12

1.8k books already bought, now sold out worldwide. jaemin was overwhelmed with joy. everything was going perfect. the office was nicely decorated for renjun when he comes in. despite only have a day to plan everything, they pulled it off. there was a table with food and sweets out on display, streamers, signs, and balloons.

they held the party on the first floor so that renjun would be surprised the second he walked in. jaemin was so excited to see the look on his face not only when he sees the party, but when he finds out the almost 2,000 people are already loving his book. 

"lucas!" jaemin called, the giant turned around and smiled at the sight of the younger, "thank you so much for helping me get renjun's book out there. i couldn't have done it without you." 

"of course, man. it's no problem." just as everyone started going off into their own little groups to talk, johnny called them all together.

"haechan just sent me a text and said he and renjun are almost here. someone go pour him a drink!" johnny pushed mark over to the refreshment table. mark scurried over and began pouring renjun a cup of champagne. just as he turned back around, it was like the prince had just arrived.

"congratulations!!" the office shouted, startling renjun. looking around in confusion, mark walked over to the smaller boy and handed him the glass.

"we're really proud of you, renjun. i hope you enjoy everything." renjun thanked mark as he continued to walk into the decorated building.

so many colleagues were talking to him at once, congratulating him and telling him how great his work is. it made renjun feel so proud of himself. he was so surprised, haechan was even part of it. he's never been surprised like this before but he loved it. as he continue passed the crowd, there jaemin was. just silently watching the older with a smile.

"did you do all this?" renjun asked. everyone going back to what they do best. gossiping and drinking. there was music in the background that was quiet enough to talk over and loud enough to hear.

"i might've helped a bit, but it was all johnny's idea." renjun looked over, tilting his head up to look at his boss who stood nearby.

"thank you, sir. i really appreciate everything, i really do!" johnny pulled the smaller into a hug before pulling away.

"you deserve the best, renjun." he smiled and renjun returned it as he turned back to jaemin. johnny left the two alone and went to go talk with some other colleagues.

"almost two thousand books were sold, renjun. worldwide and they're all sold out. copies are already being made." jaemin informed. renjun's eyes doubled in size, shimmering with excitement.

"s-seriously?"

"mhm, it's doing so well in just two days. i knew you would do well," jaemin grinned, "now relax, okay? enjoy yourself." he advised and renjun nodded. before the two males could say anymore, the sound of glass clicking together was heard followed by a loud voice.

"gather 'round, students." one person announced, hitting his spoon against his glass. everyone obeyed, some rolling their eyes.

"i'd like to propose a toast," he said lifting his glass, he tried to sound fancy as he spoke, "cheers to renjun's success as he continues to sell his amazing story!" he yelled. the sound of more glasses clicking together echoed out, everyone drinking soon after.

"this is so amazing." renjun smiled brightly, jaemin's heart almost melted at the sight.

"i'm glad you think so," before we continue to enjoy everything, "i wanted to talk to you about something." renjun nodded as the two went into one of the offices where it was quiet. but jaemin shut the door behind them.

"what's up?" the older questioned, sipping his champagne.

"i know others might not be too fond of this considering our positions, but i don't care. even if this means losing my job, i couldn't care less." 

renjun's eyes filled with nothing else but fear, "jaemin, what are you talking about?" he was scared of the youngers next few words. did johnny find out about friday and fire jaemin from the office? that couldn't happen. not right now. jaemin gave renjun the energy, the motivation, and the advice that got him to the place he is in now. 

"you. i'm talking about you," jaemin said softly, there was something just so charming about his deep yet soft voice. though, renjun was still confused. he stared at him as if they never spent a day in each other's company,

"i don't care about anything else when it comes to you. call me crazy but i'm just really in love with you. every little thing that you do drives me insane. even your simple presence just does so much to me. and when i make you laugh? it's the best feeling in the world just to know i can make you feel that way. i would just love it if we could make this official so i can continue to make you happy in numerous ways." jaemin gulped as he studied renjun's body language and facial expressions, "as cheesy as that sounded, will you be my boyfriend, renjun?" 

renjun's mouth hung ajar as he felt hot tears threatening to fall. the confession was just so sincere, so sweet, so charming. just like jaemin. how could he say no?

"i would love to." he answered, barely above a whisper. both of them smiled, staring into each other's eyes with nothing but pure admiration. jaemin reached his hand over, lacing it with renjun's smaller one. before any of them could say anything, the door opened startling both of them. they quickly pulled away from each other.

"oops, sorry! oh renjun, what are you doing in here?" ten asked, his eyes trailing over to jaemin before he smirked.

"ahh, i see. i'll leave you two alone." 

"ten, wait! please don't—"

"your secret's safe." ten winked before leaving the two lovebirds alone.


	13. Chapter 13

that night, jaemin took renjun back home to his apartment. they had spent enough time together all day and jaemin figured renjun wanted his space after a party that was so tiring. plus, his friends might want to spend time with him.

when renjun unlocked the door to his apartment, those four idiots were already in there. each of them doing their own thing as if they didn't just break into renjun's home. "renjun! your back!" haechan smiled. the rest of them turned their attention to the older as well.

"congratulations on your book, renjun." jisung and chenle said, renjun just smiled at them before he went to go put his things down. he was too tired to even speak. though he was completely happy about everything that was going on with himself.

after changing into some pajamas, renjun made his way back into the living room to spend time with his friends. "you look tired, ren. why don't you get some rest?" jeno asked. it was true, the older could barely keep his eyelids open. he didn't even have the strength to reply. 

"m'not tired...you guys eat yet?" even though renjun was clearly exhausted, the group couldn't help but coo at the how caring renjun was. haechan told him that they ate and to just go to sleep and that's all renjun needed to go off into dreamland. his head resting on jeno's muscular shoulder.

—

coming back into work was like deja vu for renjun. he was feeling the same way he was when he and jaemin innocently hung out at his house. only now, the situation wasn't so innocent. if any other coworkers found out about their relationship, there's no way they can just lie and cover it up. renjun just tried to shake off the negative thoughts so he didn't get sick right then and there.

as he made it to his floor, he saw jaemin talking to some of his colleagues. he's never really noticed it before since he had never seen jaemin interact with those other editors he works with, but renjun didn't like it. he walked slowly as he observed the younger as he spoke to them before walking off to his office.

"i really liked the party, the food on that table was just so delicious." sicheng said. yuta, who was also talking amongst the group, just agreed despite not eating anything from the table that day.

"we did a good job decorating and our boss did a great job planning." jaemin smiled, everyone agreeing. as they continued to laugh and joke around, jaemin's attention fell out from the group when he felt a stare. when he turned his head, just as he expected, renjun turned his gaze back in front of him and continued down the hallway.

"i'll catch up with you guys later." jaemin excused himself as he made his way down the hallway behind renjun. once he finally caught up to the male, he was able to walk at a normal pace beside him.

"good morning, mr. na." renjun said, making the younger frown.

"why mr. na?" he pout, trying to look serious. renjun giggled as he brought his hand to caress jaemin's cheek. "only teasing," he smiled. jaemin leaned into his hand as he hummed.

"now answer me this, why are you following me?" renjun asked, folding his arms.

"i just wanted to come see my boyfriend." jaemin said casually, observing the older as he said so. renjun tensed up at his words, looking around worriedly before he smiled slightly.

"i've got my answer," jaemin sighed, "you seem bothered so i came to check on you. it's because you're scared someone's going to find out?" renjun gulped as he averted his eyes down to the tiled floor. he observed the mosaic pattern, anything just to avoid jaemin's question.

"it's not about other people, it's about our boss. if the other workers find out, it'll surely get to mr. seo." even though jaemin didn't care if anyone found out, he couldn't argue that johnny wouldn't find out, he knew everyone here loved gossiping. especially about those two.

renjun wasn't lying when he said that's what was bothering him, but the main thing that was rubbing him the wrong way wasn't all because he was scared of johnny finding out about them. jaemin noticed how pensive renjun was. he just knew the didn't quite hit the nail on the head when he said he was worried about johnny finding out. something else was clearly eating at him but jaemin didn't want to force it out of him either.

"are you sure that's it?" renjun nodded hesitantly, "alright, renjun-ah. but i trust that if anything is bothering you, and i mean anything, you'll tell me?" jaemin took the older male's hand into his. renjun just nodded slowly as he began to feel guilt consume him. not only because he didn't tell the younger, but the way jaemin looked at him in the eyes with such a worried gaze. renjun just had to look away. 

"i'm not upset with you, jaemin. it's just...i'll tell you later okay?" renjun didn't want jaemin to think he was mad at him because he wasn't. this was new to both of them so they had to learn that communication is key. jaemin lightly planted a kiss onto the older's knuckles before leaving to go back to work. renjun doing the same.

it was the end of the day and jaemin still hadn't received an explanation to renjun's bothered state. renjun could just tell jaemin was waiting to hear one, but he just had to talk it over with his friends first. not bothering to pester the older about it, jaemin just took him home and dropped him off at the usual spot in front of the complex.

when renjun came inside, he didn't hesitate to go straight to his phone to call his friends over. of course, they gladly came over right after jeno had picked up the younger males from school. 

"what is it, ren?" haechan asked. renjun sighed as he slumped into the couch. he was completely clueless to the fact that his next few words would change everything.


	14. Chapter 14

renjun had explained to the group about what happened at the party and his new relationship with jaemin. chenle and jisung even stopped playing their video games to listen in on the conversation. 

"so what's been bothering you?" jisung asked, not caring who he was dating. he just wanted to know the interest portion of it.

"i don't know it just seems so stupid..." renjun murmured. chenle was able to catch his words, taking renjun's hand when he did. 

"renjun, whatever you're feeling is only human so it isn't stupid. you're feelings are valid, okay?" renjun nodded, taking a deep breath.

"i've just been kinda...i don't know...the way he talks to his colleagues is just so weird and— i just don't like it.." renjun continued babbling while the others gave each other a knowing look. 

"you're jealous of the way he talks to his colleagues." jeno interrupted. renjun froze as his face flushed red, "it's alright, ren. it's normal." jeno pat the smaller's back. haechan nodded in agreement.

"mhm, just tell him that. it will make your relationship and your trust for each other stronger." 

"yeah, you always tell me communication is key to everything so what makes this any different?" jisung added. the four watched as renjun thought long and hard, his eyebrows knitting together.

"you guys are so right," he facepalmed, "why didn't i just tell him in the first place." he sighed.

"because you're dumb." chenle laughed, the others joining in while renjun just threatened him. "tell him tomorrow. it's never too late." jeno whipped his tears of laughter away, "i think it would be nice if we met him too."

"have him join us tomorrow!" haechan announced.

"look at you making plans in my apartment." renjun rolled his eyes, clearing not too fond of that idea.

"if you don't, i will."

renjun sighed, agreeing to just bring jaemin over. despite them meeting up, renjun always knew he could count on these four to give him advice. he didn't always see the big picture and they always helped him do that. even if he got teased in the process, it would always be worth it. so the next day, renjun did exactly what they had said. 

jaemin sat at his desk as usual, editing papers with his gold rimmed specs sitting on his nose bridge. suddenly there was a soft knock on the door that confused him. he never had any visitors on mondays.

"come in," he called. the door creaked open revealing renjun. jaemin smiled as he watched the older quietly close the door, "renjun, good afternoon." jaemin walked over to the older, engulfing him into a hug. almost lifting renjun off his feet.

renjun giggled before he spoke, "i wanted to talk to you...about yesterday," he looked up to meet the younger's gaze, "i'm sorry i didn't tell you then. but i guess i was a little jealous by the way you were talking to your colleagues." 

it took a while for jaemin to process everything but when he did, he let out a breathy chuckle. renjun pout at that but jaemin made sure to assure him that he wasn't laughing at the way he felt. he wanted renjun to trust him and to continue to tell him things like these.

"it's no problem, renjun-ah. i'm really happy that you told me. that's all that really matters to me, it's that you trusted me enough to be honest about everything." the older nodded. jaemin leaned down and softly kissed his forehead. 

expecting renjun to get flustered, the older hit his chest, "at least warn me!" he blushed. jaemin was surprised but soon laughed, hugging him tightly. that's when renjun remembered jeno and haechan's request— no, demand. "oh! my friends want to meet you today!" renjun said pulling away.

"are you okay with that?" and of course jaemin was more than happy to meet renjun's friends. with all the funny stories he tells about them, he really looked forward to the chaos. 

—

jaemin stood beside the older in front of the apartment room as renjun struggled to find the key. jaemin even noticed his hands shaking as he tried to find the right one that would fit into the door.

"are you nervous, pretty?" jaemin tilted his head as he smiled. 

"not nervous, i just don't want them to say anything stupid." jaemin hummed in return. the older seemed to be stalling instead of actually trying to unlock the door. 

"how about we just knock? aren't they already here?" 

"oh...right.."renjun chuckled nervously as he wrapped his sweaty hand around the doorknob, "you know what? it's okay, you can just meet them another—" jaemin just opened the door himself finding it already unlocked. the four other male's turned their attention to the two.

"mr. na!" haechan shouted, running over towards the two, "nice to meet you. as my friends boyfriend at least." the two shook hands.

"you too, and jaemin is fine." renjun then introduced him jeno, and before he could introduce him the younger boys, they beat him to it.

"so you're the man he's always talking about?" jisung asked. jaemin laughed.

"yeah, i guess so." 

"he said you're higher in rank or something, so i thought you were kinda old." the other three tried to conceal their laughter.

"sorry about them, this is chenle and jisung. they're still in high school as you can tell." renjun glared.

to renjun's surprise they all got along well. renjun even found out a few surprising things about the younger. one of them being that he has a really weird and clumsy side to him. and he thought that was adorable. jisung even tried to teach him how to play videos games but he just looked so lost while trying to play it.

"i'm terrible at these things."

"it's okay, you play better than renjun." haechan joked. chenle's dolphin laughter startled jaemin but the others weren't too phased by it. 

"you'll get used to that, i promise." jeno giggled.


	15. Chapter 15

everyone got along with jaemin just fine and renjun was thankful for that. he didn't think he could date someone if his friends didn't approve. the fact that they laughed and joked with jaemin as if they've been close for years was more than anything renjun could ask for. 

jeno and jaemin were laughing together for so long renjun even had to break them apart, "okay, you two have been talking all day!" renjun giggled, "it's getting late we can't stay here on the couch all day." 

"watch me." haechan slouched into the couch, giving the older a challenging gaze. renjun rolled his eyes as he ignored him.

"i'll take these two home so i'll see you guys at work tomorrow." jeno stood, trying to get chenle and jisung to leave but they protested loudly. their eyes not leaving the screen in front of them.

"one more round, i told you that there were four rounds in one game!" chenle yelled. jeno glared at the younger, ready to attack but to chenle's luck, jaemin stopped him.

"you take them home everyday?"

"and pick them up, and feed them." jeno tsked.

"hey! i have to feed them too! not to mention i have to take this one to work." haechan said flicking chenle's head. jaemin just laughed enjoying the everlasting chaos. finally jisung and chenle finished their game and left with jeno after bidding their goodbyes.

"i should be leaving too. i don't wanna have to witness anything gross." renjun was about to fire back at the tanned male but he had left quickly, leaving the two lovers alone.

"and then there were two." jaemin smiled, turning to the older, "i don't think i've ever seen your apartment before." he said looking around. he was right, after taking renjun home so many times he had never actually came inside.

renjun hummed in agreement as he realized, "yeah, it is. i'm sorry it's not as amazing as yours." he chuckled. jaemin shook his head, taking renjun's hand.

"no, no, i love it. it's cozy, clean, and simple." the two boys ended up playing on jisung and chenle's game console and falling asleep on the couch. being together for so long made them forget about having work so early in the morning.

—

and like expected, they were late that morning. rushing into work before johnny had noticed their absence. renjun had a lot of meetings scheduled and even an upcoming interview on tv soon. jaemin was just as busy himself so the two had no time to speak to each other. they would be so caught up with work, they didn't even notice when they would be walking past each other.

"ten, can you copy these for me?" renjun asked, the older nodded taking the stack of papers and putting them into the copy machine. "ten can't be your real name, why does everyone call you that?" ten smiled slightly at the younger's curiosity.

"there are ten letters in my real name. chittaphon." he explained, watching as renjun's mouth formed an 'o' as he attempted to spell it in his head. 

"anyways, how are you and jaemin?" renjun was slightly startled by the mention of his name, especially being at work. his cheeks flushed red as he answered.

"good." he said shortly. 

ten just smirked, "i heard he gets along with your friends well. haechan has a big mouth but i made sure he didn't blabber anything else to the rest of the office." ten assured. renjun was surely going to kill him when he got back into their shared office.

"thank you, ten. i don't wanna seem nosy but are seeing someone too? you're just really kind and i'm surprised you haven't picked someone up already." ten's teasing smirk never left his lips as he handed renjun the copied papers.

"why thank you, ren. and yes i am seeing someone, you actually know them quite well." the two began walking out of the copy room. as soon as the entered the hallway, they met with their boss.

"hello, renjun.., ten." johnny greeted, his face slightly reddened. the two bowed slightly, though ten continued walking pass the older to go to back to work. but not before giving renjun a hinting wink that caused renjun to instantly understand who he was referring to.

renjun had left to go back to his office, ready to slice haechan's big lips off when he saw jeno and jaemin talking by the bathrooms. they soon noticed him as the smaller boy walked towards them.

"hey, handsome." jaemin poked renjun's sides. even though he wanted to engulf renjun into a hug, he knew renjun would surely murder him considering they're in the middle of the hallway.

"hi, guys. is haechan in the office?" 

"yeah, mr. seo just yelled at him for playing papa's bakeria so he's just sulking about it now." jeno informed, "why?"

renjun answered a little late due to the slight surprise of what jeno had just told him. papa's bakeria? he had to laugh, "no reason, i was just wondering where he was." 

"papa's bakeria...i remember that game..." jaemin thought aloud. renjun rolled his eyes, laughing.

"i'm going back to work. don't miss me too much." the older teased before leaving. when renjun walked into the office, it was just like jeno had described. haechan sat his his desk, arms folded over his chest, pouting. 

"can you believe that guy? he yelled at me as if i've never done any work here." haechan complained, renjun just gave him a knowing glance. 

"okay maybe not a lot of work, but i still have handed in a few drafts to that one editor. that mark guy." 

"you used to let me read your stories all the time, haechan. what happened to all of those amazing plots?" renjun asked. haechan was genuinely a good writer, he just doesn't give himself credit for it.

"nothing really, i just get stuck on a chapter or i start other stories." he shrugged. renjun smiled to himself, this was all too familiar.

"i understand completely, but i learned some really good advice." renjun murmured.

"what was it?"

"instead of writing exactly what you want, write what you feel in the flow of writing. you might even include your own thoughts a bit but that's what makes it your story."


	16. Chapter 16

jeno wasn't saying this was really planned, but if it was planned, everything was going well. though, he didn't quite understand why just yet. he had met jaemin along with the rest of their friend group formally as renjun's boyfriend. all went well, jaemin was overall a chill person to hangout with, kinda weird too. 

despite everything going well, jeno couldn't help but notice it was all in renjun's favor. he had the dream life anyone here desired to have. his career was going well and not only did he have a boyfriend, but his boyfriend got along well with his friends. what did renjun have to worry about? he no longer attended those degrading meetings that compared you to the other successful workers in the building.

jeno felt like he was pressured to be just as good as renjun. and of course that was jeno's childhood best friend, you would think he'd be able to tell him but he couldn't. it was his biggest insecurity that hurt him too much. he wasn't going to tell renjun just for it to hurt his ego even more. 

it's been his dream ever since he was small. it was his all he had to work towards. you could say he was envious and his anger issues didn't make it any better. jeno wasn't too mad at renjun, he couldn't be. he couldn't blame the older for his own inferiority. 

jeno and renjun used to always have similar issues with writing. and to know that you weren't the only one struggling, that was best comfort that you could get. it was like when jeno wouldn't do his homework back in high school. when he found out renjun didn't do it either, he was able to relax. 

he remembered the fear that had struck him the day he noticed renjun's attentive actions when he had started writing his book. he felt pressured, nervous, and confused. he was going to just start writing something, anything to look busy. but it only made him feel like he was falling deeper and deeper into failure. 

renjun had taken something so precious away from him and it hurt. especially from his best friend. but it wasn't his fault at all, right? so many thoughts roamed the male's mind as he sat in their break room after his encounter with the couple.

like he had said before, he didn't plan for him and jaemin to get along so well. but the dark thoughts that continued to consume his mind told him that this was all working in his favor. of course it would. this just means he would still get to hangout with renjun regardless of his relationship with jaemin because he, too, was his friend. that had to be it, that had to be what his thoughts were getting at. he had nothing to worry about. 

"jeno?" 

jeno's body jolted just a little too hard at the sudden mention of his name. he could have sworn he was alone. he looked around to see who called him and met eyes with yuta, who he shared an office with once.

"what are you thinking about?" he asked, sitting beside him. 

"nothing, i was just leav—"

"you know something that i don't?" yuta eyed the younger evilly. jeno scoot away from him before replying.

"what are you even talking about?" he didn't know what yuta was trying to get out of him, but it wasn't working. 

"don't be scared, i don't bite, jeno." yuta said scooting closer, "are they dating? jaemin and renjun?" jeno sighed rolling his eyes. of course that's what yuta wanted to know, this was the side of yuta that jeno knew best. standing up, jeno fixed his collared shirt.

"of course they aren't, yuta. you're being way too nosy again." and with that jeno left. leaving yuta dumbfounded.

"i just saw him leave, did you get anything?" doyoung asked coming into the break room. yuta just shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose before standing.

"of course not. i'm not doing this anymore, i don't care." 

—

jeno was on his way back to his office, ready to face haechan's complaining, and renjun working. and just like earlier, he bumped into jaemin. jeno was just going to apologize and go his separate way, but jaemin stopped him before he could leave.

"wait, have you seen mark? he was just complaining to me about how haechan keeps giving him drafts that aren't even finished." jeno chuckled, shaking his head.

"sorry, i haven't seen mr. lee in a while actually." jeno replied. and then those thoughts came rushing through his mind again, and this time jeno made sure to really listen to them. that left jeno back to those demanding voices. it was like they were eating at him and it was growing annoying.

"alright, let me know if you do." jaemin said.

"i will. i also have some drafts for the editors for our meeting on friday, would you mind working with me?" jeno asked softly.

"of course! just give them to me anytime this week and i'll take care of everything." jaemin left after giving jeno a bright smile.

after some time, everything clicked. jeno didn't know what he was doing but he just let his feelings get to his head and let his head control everything. he wasn't really thinking logically and it was hard to when he was just so tired. 

anytime jeno would try to work his way through these thoughts and frustrations, he would just get angry. he and his friends knew this fact very well. jeno knew they always supported him while giving him his space, but this was different.

jeno didn't understand why he was so heartbroken by the fact that renjun took away his pride and happiness unknowingly, though his thoughts continued to pry into his head. controlling him to the point where he was now thinking with his feelings. and he was only feeling one thing now, and that was anger.


	17. Chapter 17

no it wasn't the weekend, but jaemin just couldn't wait until then. he, too, noticed how he and renjun were so busy with work. especially since renjun had a tv interview on sunday, and jaemin had a lot of editing to do because of his meeting with the writers on friday. being that it was wednesday, and to their luck their shift was cut short, jaemin invited the older to his house yet again.

of course, renjun couldn't disagree. so after their shifts ended, jaemin took renjun to his house just as he planned. they played board games, watched some shows on netflix but the couple started to run out of ideas. 

the two now sat on the couch, watching whatever was on the tv. renjun's head was on the younger's chest as he played jaemin's fingers that were much larger that his own. jaemin smiled at how cute the older was as he wrapped his free arm around renjun's small body, bringing him closer.

"you know, i might not be amazing at cooking, but i really enjoy baking." renjun said randomly. he covered his face seemingly embarrassed about how weird and random he was but jaemin didn't care. he was bored and he would appreciate any opportunity to learn little things about renjun. 

"oh really? are they that much different?" jaemin asked, feeling renjun nod against him.

"very different but similar at the same time." renjun answered. the room grew quiet, though it was that comfortable sort of silence that the two males didn't mind at all

"how about we bake a cake?" renjun looked up at the younger with an expression jaemin couldn't quite read this time.

"seriously?" renjun couldn't imagine jaemin being good at baking for some strange reason. he even laughed at the thought.

"i'm serious! you don't think i can do it, do you?" renjun bit his lip to hide his laughter, "that's it. come on, let's go shop for the ingredients."

—

jaemin pushed the silver cart throughout the grocery store as he watched renjun observe each ingredient before putting it into the cart. he was grabbing so many different tools and ingredients, jaemin couldn't keep up. 

"do we really need all of this?" jaemin asked. renjun nodded as he stood on his toes to attempt to reach an item, "i can tell baking is already different from cooking. i usually just grab what i think will taste good but you're reading each product." jaemin pointed out, simply reaching his arm up to hand the smaller male the item he was reaching for.

"it will taste good for sure. well that depends on you," renjun giggled, jaemin just rolled his eyes as the two paid and made their way back to jaemin's home. 

—

after preheating the oven and prepping the pans, the two got started immediately. making sure their hands were washed and they were wearing aprons. 

"okay, first we need to mix ¼ cup of sugar and a stick of butter." renjun said handing jaemin a measuring cup and the sugar. 

"i don't know how to measure that!" he argued, but renjun just smiled as he went to grab the butter.

"just pour the sugar into the cup until the line that reads ¼." renjun explained. he was sure jaemin would get it but that thought completely left him when jaemin held the cup over the bowl and began pouring the sugar.

"stop!" 

the sugar came out all at once and instead of only going inside of the measuring cup, it fell into the bowl that had butter in it, and onto the counter top. renjun's mouth hung open before he snorted, jaemin frowned as he did so.

"don't laugh!" he said trying to conceal his own laughter, "i'm actually trying to learn!"

"well here's a tip, never measure anything over your bowl. unless you want all of it to go in. plus you can't hold the cup anyways, it has to be on a flat surface." renjun ended up having to fix the sugar rush in the bowl before handing it back to the younger to stir. 

"when do i stop?" he asked, nodding his head when renjun told him to stop when it turns fluffy. meanwhile, the older was preparing the eggs and baking powder, "why do we need baking powder? we already have flour." renjun ignored him and just handed him the eggs.

"this should be easy, just put it in the bowl."

"the whole egg?" renjun's face dropped. was he serious? his question was soon answered when jaemin laughed hysterically.

"i was really concerned for you for a second! i nearly hit you." renjun sighed in relief, laughing with the younger.

after successfully adding the eggs, it was time to add the baking powder. renjun was a little nervous for that considering what just happened earlier,  
but he just had to wait and see. adding vanilla extract, renjun watched as jaemin slowly tried to measure the powder.

"you're doing so great." renjun said, but his nervous voice said otherwise.

"thank you, pretty. don't be so nervous, i got this." jaemin lifted the measuring cup and began pouring the baking powder into the bowl. everything seemed to be going smoothly until jaemin went out of focus in renjun's view, his eyes widened as he noticed the baking powder on its side, spilling onto the floor. 

"jaemin! the baking powder! get it!" despite telling the younger to grab the bag, they both reach across each other. their bodies entangled losing their balance. it was a mixture of them trying to stop the baking power from spilling anymore, and their mixing bowl from spilling. it just ended with the two males on the floor in the pile of baking powder.

"this is absolutely ridiculous!" jaemin couldn't believe he managed to ruin the kitchen this much over one cake. the two were now on the floor covered in powder all because of a simple cake. renjun was laughing so hard, tears were pouring from his eyes. seeing renjun in that state made jaemin's heart melt. he couldn't help but laugh too. 

"i can't believe— you've caused this big of a mess— over a cake!" renjun hiccuped from laughing so hard, holding his stomach he did so. jaemin threw some of the baking powder into his face as he stood to his feet.

renjun ended up finishing the cake while jaemin cleaned up the mess. luckily, the cake turned out well and the two enjoyed it happily. even though they were still completely covered with powder.

"imagine if we did this with the rest of the group." 

"your house would burn down." renjun said making the younger laugh. jaemin wanted that day to last forever but all he could do was just enjoy every moment and hope for more with the older.


	18. Chapter 18

even though it was hard, jaemin took renjun back home. he really enjoyed every single moment he spent with him. he learned that renjun enjoys baking, he loves to laugh, and he took notice to the birthmark on his right hand. and he thought it was beautiful.

"i really enjoyed spending time with you, nana. i always do." renjun smiled brightly. jaemin returned it as he shifted his body to face the older.

"nana? that's new."

"you like it? i think it suits you well." the older giggled. jaemin nodded, bringing his hand up to renjun's face, the older leaned into his touch.

"i don't want this night to end," renjun murmured, kissing jaemin's palm. before any of them could say anymore, there was a loud knock on renjun's window that startled both of them.

"what hell are you guys doing?" haechan's voice was slightly muffled since he was outside. renjun frowned, the moment was ruined but it didn't really matter now. renjun apologized to the younger, pecking his cheek quickly as he got out of the car.

"i was waiting for you! i have to tell you something!" haechan argued. renjun hit his arm harshly as they went inside the apartment, "it's about our colleagues they—"

"did they find out? i can't believe you!" 

"no, no! they didn't! just listen!" haechan grabbed renjun, pulling his smaller body into the apartment room with ease, "remember yuta? he was talking to ten about how he's interested in jaemin. ten told me immediately so i could tell you." 

renjun didn't know what to say or how to respond, but he felt his anxiety levels increase every second. he looked around, meeting eyes with jeno, jisung, and chenle who were busy doing their own thing. when he looked back up at haechan, he attempted to find his voice. his mouth hung slightly open, trying to find the right words to say.

"this was...this was exactly what i was worried about before. i can't let other people ruin our relationship but it's so hard when you're so scared," renjun bit his bottom lip, not wanting to cry in front of everyone. he didn't want to seem like a baby, "i've never done this before, hyuck. this jealousy is going to be the death of me." renjun sighed, sitting on the couch.

haechan looked at the others for what to do next. they all looked sad along with renjun. jeno sat up, ready to listen to anything that came out of renjun's mouth. haechan decided to make the first move, kneeling in front of the older.

"renjun-ah...it's okay to feel this way. you only know what goes on on your relationship so you need to be confident in it and tell jaemin exactly how you feel every time." renjun nodded, still trying to hold in his tears, "it's also okay to cry. please don't be afraid to express your feelings in front of us, we would never judge you." renjun engulfed the tanned male into a hug, finally letting out his tears as his face was buried into his shoulder.

suddenly jeno stood up, excusing himself to the bathroom. haechan gave him a weird glance as he watched him disappear into renjun's bathroom. he found it a little strange because jeno would never leave in a situation like this. haechan gave chenle a look, both of them thinking the same thing.

"stay put, okay? i'll be right back." haechan stood following jeno. chenle and jisung instantly made their way beside renjun, comforting him.

"don't be scared, renjun. you and i both know you too have a strong relationship already. that love that you guys have for each other couldn't be ruined by some coworker like that yuta guy. so don't worry, alright?" renjun relaxed at that. of course they were right yet again. 

meanwhile, haechan stood in front of the bathroom door that separated him and jeno. he had already knocked but received no reply. "jeno, you okay in there?" haechan knocked once again but still received no reply. he was ready to kick down the door but he didn't want to startled everyone so he just shook the doorknob that was found locked.

"jeno, open the door!" the only sound that was heard, was scuffling, water running, and items being tossed around. haechan was started to get worried but before he could say anything else, jeno opened the door. "why didn't you answer me? i was worried, you fool." 

jeno looked down at his hands, haechan following his gaze. both knuckles were wrapped with gauze. haechan then looked inside the bathroom, the mirror was shattered and bloodied. haechan was at a loss for words as he looked back at jeno. 

"i was busy." he said coldly. he turned to walk away but haechan wasn't having it. he probably shouldn't do what he was about to do, but he grabbed jeno's arm and turned him around fast.

"busy? jeno, what's gotten into you? you leave the living room so suddenly, you're punching mirrors again? what the hell?" haechan yelled. jeno just ignored him and went back to going down the hall, but haechan grabbed him yet again. this time, jeno wasn't having it. he pushed haechan so hard he hit the floor with a loud thud.

this action even took jeno by surprise, he hesitated to go help haechan up and apologize, but that other side of him pulled him back. he knew if he tried to help haechan, he would reject his offer and continue to question him. so jeno walked past the other three boys in the living room and left. renjun, chenle, and jisung stared wide eyed and dumbfound.

"haechan? where are you?" jisung called, walking around until he found haechan slowly getting off of the floor, "what happened? jeno left so—" jisung paused at the sight of renjun's bathroom.

"his anger issues are getting bad again," haechan said joining the others in the living room. "i went to talk to him and he shoved me into the floor." haechan explained. the rest just sat in silence, a lot was happening at once.

"usually when he's mad, we know why." renjun pointed out. 

"yeah, but this time he's even taking it out on us. so whatever it is, i'm scared for anyone who he comes in contact with."


	19. Chapter 19

the group was still bothered by the other day and they hadn't heard much from jeno since. he wasn't rude to them at the office, but he didn't speak to anyone. he just seemed really bothered by something. and no matter how much renjun and haechan wanted to ask, they were too scared. 

suddenly there was a knock at the door, when it opened it revealed sicheng, one of the publishers. "okay, you three each have a meeting with the editors in ten minutes. haechan will go first, then jeno, then renjun. you'll go to mr. na's office." he informed as he wrote somethings on his clipboard. and with that, he left. 

the three sat in silence for those ten minutes. renjun was at least relieved to go so jaemin again. he always enjoyed these meetings since he got to be alone with him. he was going to tell him all about what yuta had been saying, and the whole jeno situation. haechan had gone already to his meeting, and came back soon after so jeno could go.

"how did it go?" renjun asked him.

"short as always. i ended up going to that mark guy again. he told me not to come back until i actually write more than two chapters." haechan pout as renjun chuckled in return.

—

jeno sat across from jaemin who sat at his desk reading his drafts. his gold rimmed specs sitting on his nose. it felt like hours before it was going to be over. jaemin would just consistently ask him questions.

"okay, i edited a few things but overall the storyline is really intriguing. just send me the next  
person and tell them they have 3 minutes to come up here" jeno took his papers back. 

"thank you..."

"you don't seem like yourself today, what's wrong?" jaemin noticed. jeno's thoughts were at it again, everything was going to work out in his favor. in that case, instead of telling the next person they had three minutes, he decided to use them.

"i don't know, i've been really tired lately. it's really hard to write." jeno explained. and he didn't lie, but that wasn't the entire reason to his gloomy state.

"i understand completely. here, i have some books that give really good advice for things like that." jaemin motioned for jeno to come behind the desk. jeno stood behind jaemin, his hand leaning beside jaemin as he showcased the different books to him.

"i didn't know you wore glasses." jeno commented.

"oh right, it's only when i'm editing."

—

"jeno should have been down here by now. the meetings are each ten minutes long and the next person has three minutes to to go up." haechan observed suspiciously.

"how long has it been?"

"about fifteen minutes," haechan waved the older off, "go up there just in case they're expecting you anyways." he said and renjun complied. he made it up to the editors floor, walking throughout the hallway. for some reason his felt sick. maybe it was the same nervousness after hearing about yuta, that had to be it.

—

"and i ended up spilling it all over the floor!" jaemin laughed, remembering the events from the other day.

"you're very clumsy, i see." jeno chuckled deeply, analyzing the younger's every move so he could calculate is own. he heard footsteps down the hallway and he had to think on his feet. so like always, he let his feelings take control.

"shouldn't renjun be coming up soon?" jaemin asked, looking up at jeno who hovered over him. his eyes were dark as they stared at him. jaemin felt small under his gaze, so he leaned back slightly.

a smirk tugged at jeno's lips as he just watched jaemin shift uncomfortably. "mhmm," he replied following jaemin, leaning closer to him, "any minute now." 

"j-jeno, i should really—" jeno used his free hand, that wasn't leaning on the desk, to grip jaemin's jaw quickly as he connected their lips. and just like he had thought, the door clicked. creaking loudly as he heard it open. jeno ignored jaemin pushing at his chest, he had to get at least one more second of this moment, just to make sure it was seen.

when he pulled away from jaemin, they both turned their attention to the door. and there renjun stood, tears at the brim of his eyes, his cheeks flushed red, his mouth agape. jaemin was first to speak despite his flustered state.

"renjun! it's...it's not what it looks like!" he stammered, standing up to walk over to him. but renjun had already ran out of the room. jaemin looked over at jeno who didn't even spare the younger a glance. he just made his way out of his office, following renjun close behind. 

—

after calling out to him multiple times as he chased the older, he finally caught up to him. renjun turned around swiftly, tears continued to pour down his face has he cried. though jeno's gaze was cold and unapologetic.

"how could you do that to me? you know how i feel about jaemin and our colleagues. he's my fucking boyfriend for fucks sake!" renjun sobbed.

jeno didn't show any expression as he watched the older breakdown in front of his him. renjun could barely even keep himself together as he cried, choking on his sobs. his breathing was fast and uneasy.

"don't act like you're the victim here," jeno said coldly, renjun was confused but he didn't have the guts to reply to him, "you took away the one thing i had to work towards. you don't even spend time with me anymore. i understand you have a boyfriend, but...you don't even try to make time for me." 

renjun just blinked at the newly heard information. had he really cut jeno out of his life? so many emotions were consuming him causing his mind to go blank, "now you know how it feels to lose something you love. your happiness." and jeno left without another word.


	20. Chapter 20

renjun sat in the waiting areas on the first floor near the entrance. he didn't know what to do with himself. he continued to sob loudly into his hands as he attempted to cover his face. soon after, he heard the elevator stop, the doors opened revealing ten and haechan who ran to his side immediately.

"renjun, we just heard about what happened."

"we're so sorry." 

the two comforted renjun, drying his tears as they continued to fall. it was sad to see renjun, who was cheerful most of the time, crying so harshly. his body twitched uncontrollably and he could barely catch his breath. the situation was ugly.

"breathe, renjun, breathe." haechan held the smaller boy against his chest, ten holding his hand. the three boys stayed like that for a while before renjun's breathing went back to normal. his eyes were swollen, his cheeks still red and stained with tears.

"we finished talking to jaemin upstairs. he's just as upset as you are, he really wants to talk to you." renjun shook his head frantically.

"i don't want to see him—...or talk to him." renjun hiccuped. the two boys just sighed, they expected that sort of answer.

"you know he wouldn't do anything to hurt you, ren. it's obvious whose fault this is." haechan said angrily. 

"i can't stand to see him or hear his voice again. not after that. it's like i don't even know him anymore. whether it's his fault or not, i can't handle this right now." ten nodded, understanding renjun's reasoning but haechan's mind was planning on murdering jeno.

suddenly johnny came out from the elevator, walking toward the three. "what happened? i've been looking for you guys." 

"it's nothing, johnny. just give us a minute, okay? we're leaving early today." ten stated. haechan was going to question why he their boss by his real name, but he didn't think it was appropriate under the circumstances. expecting their boss to further question them or tell them to go back to work, his answer shocked both renjun and haechan.

"okay, come in whenever you're feeling better, renjun." ten squeezed johnny's hand and mouthed 'thank you' as he and haechan lead renjun out of the building.

—

ten and haechan had just left jaemin's office after questioning him and comforting him. mark, lucas, and sicheng came rushing into the room to see if jaemin was okay. they had heard what happened from haechan who just couldn't keep his mouth shut anymore.

"jaemin, are you alright?" mark asked sitting on his desk side. jaemin couldn't even speak. he was still taken aback by everything. from the kiss, to seeing the look on renjun's face before he ran out, and knowing that he's somewhere hurting right then was enough to break jaemin's heart. and he knew for a fact that their relationship would never be the same.

"i don't know..." his voice broke, just barely audible. his hands were shaking as he brought them to his eyes to wipe his tears, "i didn't... i didn't mean for it to happen, guys. h-he wouldn't get off of me, i tried to push him." jaemin continued to spill out what happened, some of it not making any sense. 

it was devastating to see the younger this way. especially since he was usually well put together, loud, cheerful, and always the life of the party. but now, it was almost like they couldn't recognize him.

"you really love him, huh?" sicheng was asking but it was obvious. jaemin just buried his face in his hands. 

"what are you gonna do?" lucas questioned innocently. he genuinely felt bad for the younger, but he couldn't think of any comforting words to tell him. the situation was new to him but he knew he had to fight for the one he loves.

"you know what? i have to talk to him. he'll just have to listen to me, right?" 

"no." the three males said in unison. they knew for a fact renjun wouldn't want to hear anything from jaemin.

"he needs time to process everything. i don't think he would want to see you for a while. it might just hurt him even more. even though it's not your fault, if you try to explain everything to him, he'll just be overwhelmed and shut everyone out." mark explained.

even though it was sad, it was true. everything that happened was beyond jaemin's control and he hated it. it wasn't his fault jeno kissed him, he even tried to push him away but he was just too strong. why he even did it in the first place was also a mystery yet to be revealed. 

"why me though? why did he have to kiss me and ruin my relationship? i don't understand." 

no one could really answer that question before. but they weren't going to let jaemin beat himself up for something he couldn't control. "don't say that, things happen to everyone. i wish i could tell you the reason behind him kissing you but i really don't know." sicheng comforted.

"has he shown any interest in you before? maybe he was jealous?" lucas added.

jaemin just shook his head. he didn't know if jeno was interested in him or not. he didn't know why jeno had ruined his relationship when they were getting along so well. he didn't what to do, how he was feeling, or if he would ever get to see renjun smile again. 

"i'm going home, i can't handle this any longer. i just want this day to end." jaemin collected his stuff to leave but mark stood in front of the door.

"jaemin please don't—"

"mark, just let me go home!" he said a little more harshly than he intended. taking him by surprise, mark moved aside and the three watched as the younger left.

jaemin's mind was blank as he drove home. he tried to ignore the emptiness in the seat beside him. the car was quiet when it was usually filled with renjun's laughter. jaemin remembered the butterflies he would get just by knowing renjun was beside him. he missed it. he missed them.


	21. Chapter 21

ten and haechan brought renjun home, taking care of him for the remainder of the day. haechan cleaned up the bathroom that had been disheveled after the events from the day before, and ten made sure renjun had everything he needed. from food, water, or just someone to talk to.

as it was getting late, ten and haechan ended up leaving even though it was clearly evident that they didn't want to, renjun insisted that they did. he laid in his bed, wide awake. staring out of his window, up at the moon that shone brightly on his face. 

everything he did, made him sad. when he ate, watched tv, showered or even breathed. he felt so sick and dizzy he just wanted someone to just take him out his misery. he had an interview on national television in two days, yet he didn't think he could do it. anyone would call him crazy for thinking this, but he was ready to just throw everything away. it wouldn't make difference anyway. not when he had lost someone who was everything to him.

renjun shook off the thought, he didn't even want to think about the younger male. whether it was because he felt betrayed by him or he was just sad, renjun didn't want to ponder on it any longer. he didn't know how he was going to get through with this at work, this is probably why johnny was so against relationships in their department. 

luckily renjun fell asleep after thinking about miscellaneous and meaningless things. he woke up feeling slightly different from the way he did when he went to sleep that night. the cold light from the moon was replaced with the bright warm rays of the sun. 

renjun was relieved when he remembered johnny saying he could come in whenever he felt better. which was a mistake now that he thought about it, renjun didn't want to come back at all. his body and his feelings were all numb. it was confusing but it was better than having thoughts overcrowd his head.

suddenly he heard keys jingling outside, his front door opening after. "it's just me, ren!" haechan shouted in assurance. he didn't want to scare the older. when he came to renjun's bedroom, he wasn't alone. expecting it to be ten again, the person who was there surprised him.

"yuta?" 

that was the last person renjun wanted to see right now. well, at least one of them. he might not have been part of that exact situation but he was still a problem that renjun didn't want to deal with right now. yuta just smiled slightly, his face displayed empathy and sadness though renjun wasn't buying it.

"i know you might not want to see him, but he wouldn't stop begging me to come see you." haechan glared at yuta before leaving the two alone. 

"i heard about what happened..." yuta started awkwardly, renjun just hummed in reply. usually he would be upset considering yet another person knew about his relationship, but he didn't care. it was over anyways. plus, renjun figured the whole city knew about what happened by now. "i'm really sorry." he continued.

"what do you want, yuta? did you just come here to feel sorry for me? i don't have time for this right now." renjun turned his back to the older, snuggling up against his blanket as he stared outside.

yuta sighed before he spoke, "i wanted to confront you about the rumors. i'm not interested in jaemin at all...i won't lie to you, i said he was attractive but that's all." renjun shifted uncomfortably at the mention of jaemin's name.

"that doesn't matter to me."

"well, i just wanted to clear things up. i also wanted to tell you that even though we don't talk much anymore, i'm still here for you just like old times." yuta said. renjun and yuta used to get along well when he first joined the company. that was until he started being fake when he befriended doyoung.

"whatever...thanks, i guess." renjun's voice was emotionless. he kept his back turned, not wanting the older to see him in that state. he just knew his eyes were still swollen from crying. 

"alright, get out." haechan said coming back into the room. and renjun didn't hear anything else but footsteps followed by his front door closing. 

"what did he want?" haechan asked, sitting on the bed.

"to tell me he isn't interested in...mr. na and that he's here for me or whatever. just cheesy stuff." haechan frowned hearing renjun refer to jaemin as he did before they were dating.

"i was planning to take you out today to get your mind off of everything."

renjun just agreed to the younger's offer, not bothering to ask where he was taking him. he just liked the idea of getting his mind off of things so he swung his body around, his feet meeting the cold floor as he went to get dressed. 

—

jaemin had struggled to fall asleep that night which was a first for him. after hours of aimlessly staring at the moon, he woke up feeling like shit. not only that, but he woke up to many missed calls and texts from his colleagues. 

picking up his phone, he called the first number that came to his mind. well, second number. the first one was renjun's. the phone rang for a bit before mark picked up, "good morning, jaemin. how are you feeling?" 

"disgusting." 

"i figured as much. there's this club downtown, we were gonna go a little later. you down?" jaemin thought for a moment before agreeing. he didn't really feel like getting out of bed but he figured he would feel better if he did.

"thank you, mark. i'll see you later."

jaemin stayed in bed just for a little while longer, staring at the sun that shone it's rays onto his face. immediately he thought about how beautiful renjun would look in the sunlight. as soon as he caught himself thinking that way, he facepalmed. he definitely needed his black iced coffee with four shots of espresso right now.


	22. Chapter 22

jaemin was on his eighth cup of coffee that day and he still couldn't feel anything. not one spark of energy flowed through his body, though he still had to pull himself together to go into work. he had cancelled all plans with his friends last weekend because he just couldn't bring himself to even get out of bed. 

he knew he wouldn't see much of renjun at work too. if renjun wanted to avoid him, jaemin knew he could do it with ease. just like he did when johnny told them to stay away from each other. though jaemin was really surprised he didn't see the older waddling around the hallways whatsoever. did he even come to work that day?

—

renjun went back to work just like everyone else. even though haechan took him out to the movies, jisung and chenle tagging along, he still felt a little off considering things weren't settled at all and almost the entire office knew about what happened. but he had to be strong and keep his head held high. he had decided to come into work that next week, despite johnny saying he could come in anytime, because he postponed his interview instead.

he couldn't tell if it was all in his head or not, but he noticed people whispering, some staring at him as he walked down the hallways. he felt as if everyone was talking about him and it made him feel self-conscious. he then felt a hand rest on his slender shoulder as his body jolted in response.

"you okay? you look really tense." 

"ten, you scared the life out of me," renjun sighed in relief, "i just feel like everyone is talking about me." ten observed each office room and those standing in the hallway. most of them were talking lowly and staring so he couldn't blame the younger for thinking that way.

"come to my office. i wanna tell you something." ten motioned for the younger male to follow. he had got a little snippet of what some of the workers were whispering about as he passed them. when he got into his spacious office room, he shut the door, locking it. renjun seemed to get a little nervous from his action.

"is it about mr. seo?"

"how'd you know?" ten smirked, sitting at his desk. renjun sat down beside him at the empty desk that read "mr. liú" on the name tag.

"he literally let's you do whatever you want. and you call him by his first name." renjun commented. ten just grinned mischievously. "you're even smitten about it too." 

"he doesn't let me do everything, trust me. he only allowed me to take you home early on friday because he saw that you were upset. he doesn't give me any sort of special treatment, it's actually the opposite." ten rolled his eyes at the thought of johnny nagging him consistently.

"wait...why was he so against jaemin and i dating if you two were together all along?" ten looked away, his grin slightly fading. he looked as if he was deep in thought before he replied.

"because things happen and can ruin our reputation even more. this isn't the first time something like this happened in the office." renjun tilted his head, his curiosity getting the best of him, "so don't worry about the stares or the whispering. because they weren't talking about you. they were talking and staring at me."

-before renjun joined the company-

ten walked into work smiling from ear to ear as he thought about the events that took place the night before. he and johnny had went out on their first official date and shared their first kiss. ten knew it was wrong be he couldn't care less. the fact that he knew it shouldn't have happened only made him more eager.

he sat in his shared office with yang yang as he began getting to work immediately. his smile never leaving his lips. of course yang yang noticed this, his grin was hard to miss, "you kissed him didn't you!" he teased loudly. ten couldn't help but giggle as he threw a ruler at the younger's head.

"shut up! can you be any louder?" yang yang sat down after mumbling a quick 'sorry.' "yes we did kiss obviously, you can't tell anyone though." ten couldn't stop the blush that painted his cheeks.

suddenly the door opened startling both males, "chittaphon? you need to attend your meeting with the publishers upstairs." the male said. ten stood up and followed the male out of the office and up the stairs.

"i thought i told you to call me ten."

"your mother named you chittaphon and it would only be right if i called you that." the younger male faked kindness in his voice as he spoke. ten wanted to rip that smile off of his face but their boss was very strict. 

"jungwoo, why do you hate me?" the younger male shrugged as he opened the door to johnny's office, letting ten inside. 

-present day-

"what ever happened to jungwoo and yang yang?" renjun asked, interrupting the story. 

"he quit and yang yang here is on a business trip." ten pointed to the desk beside him before continuing back to his story. "anyways, johnny and i were talking and fooling around instead of talking about work related things. we were in there for so long, jungwoo had come back to check on us and caught us."

-flashback-

"i knew it." jungwoo grinned. ten quickly stood to his feet trying to pull himself together.

"jungwoo, you can't tell anyone about this." ten begged, lowering his voice. jungwoo kept a bored expression on his face to tease the older. he was enjoying the power he was getting way too much.

"and why not? you had no problem with telling mr. qian about lucas and i. we weren't even making out during work hours like this." jungwoo waved a finger between the two, "i'll think about it." he smiled innocently being leaving ten and johnny fearing for their lives.


	23. Chapter 23

jungwoo didn't have to think about anything except for his sweet revenge. he and ten had never really been on good terms since he first joined the company. the younger had been interested in johnny too, which didn't go too well, but once lucas caught his eye he was all in.

"come in," a voice said after jungwoo knocked on the door, "mr. kim? how can i help you?" their boss asked, pushing his specs farther up his nose bridge. and of course, jungwoo was happy to tell mr. qian all that he had seen. his angered expression excited him.

-present day-

"so what happened?" ten sighed loudly, running his fingers through his hair.

"stop interrupting and maybe you'll find out." ten replied before continuing, "johnny was being promoted to replace mr. qian as the boss of this department while he would be working at another, for this same company. mr. qian couldn't stop what was already decided so he told johnny that if they're anymore problems here because of relationships, we're forced to shut down."

renjun's eyes were wide and full of wonder. hearing ten's story, he realized it was pretty similar to his own. "so that's why johnny was so against my relationship?" ten nodded slowly, "why did jungwoo quit? and how come you still got to be with johnny?" 

"like i said we can't have a bunch of relationships here, so jungwoo quit so he could be with his boyfriend who still works here. we begged the company to let johnny and i stay together and johnny promised he wouldn't give me any special treatment or let love get in the way of our careers." it all made sense now. renjun was finally able to understand why johnny was getting so worked up over his relationship with jaemin.

"thank you for trusting me enough to share this with me, ten." ten smiled saying it was no problem, but renjun still had more questions being the curious cat he was, "what made you wanna tell me?"

"because i trust you for one, but i also want to tell you that their is still hope between you and jaemin. it took years before johnny was able to be promoted since the company knew he was going to be in a relationship me. so in due time, things will hopefully work out."

renjun appreciated the hope and advice but he highly doubted that would happen. he didn't even like hearing the younger's name let alone getting back to their relationship? renjun just couldn't bring himself to do that. not when he knows jaemin's lips had been kissed by someone who had hurt him the most.

"of course that's up to you. communication is key, though," ten stood and went for the door, "so if you really love him, don't shut him out completely. just listen." and with that, ten left to go on his break.

the younger didn't know what to make of the situation but he did know his story couldn't be as perfect as ten's. i mean, jungwoo lost his job! ten and johnny nearly lost theirs but they were lucky johnny was already being promoted. it was all because of their positions. 

renjun definitely didn't want to be with jaemin at all after everything, so he definitely wouldn't want to sacrifice his job for the younger. not when he felt as if he couldn't trust him. 

—

jaemin sat in the meeting room lost in thought, johnny's voice being muffled out. last time he checked, they were discussing renjun's interview that was postponed. that's when jaemin got into his head. he couldn't help but feel responsible for renjun postponing his interview. 

"jaemin, please focus." johnny buried his hands in his hair in frustration, "this is the third time today." 

"fourth...but who's counting?" mark added awkwardly, not helping the situation at all. jaemin apologized frantically but johnny just knew it was going to happen again.

"we'll finish this conversation another time. you guys can leave but i wanna talk to you." johnny dismissed the rest while jaemin stayed. he had no idea what he wanted to talk to him about, but he wasn't worried about it one bit.

"what happened?" johnny sighed, taking a seat next to the younger. he looked as if he was a therapist ready to hear every concern that jaemin had. and he was.

"haven't you heard already?"

"of course i did. but i don't think you've gotten a chance to tell your side of the story, have you?" jaemin shook his head. maybe that's why he was so stressed. johnny waved his hand towards the older, signaling for him to start venting. he just knew this was gonna be a long ride.

"don't worry it's not much," jaemin assured after studying the older male's face, "as you know, jeno had scheduled a meeting with me earlier that week. after editing his drafts, i offered him some books that help with writers block when he suddenly kissed me." 

"just like that?"

"just like that." the younger recalled the events of that dreadful day. it seemed that jeno had this planned all a long. he probably knew renjun was just on his way up to catch the scene.

"did he say anything before that seemed suspicious?" johnny leaned forward, reminding jaemin of a detective as he did so.

"well i asked for renjun and he said he would be there any minute. before i could say anything else he kissed me! it was clearly planned by jeno but renjun doesn't want to see me because of it." jaemin threw his arms in the air in defeat. how could he clear things up with the older if he couldn't even want to see him in the first place?

johnny just sighed as he messaged his temples. he had looked as stressed out as both renjun and jaemin combined. "i guess you just need to continue to let him be. let him come to you first and then you can pour your hearts out or whatever." jaemin chuckled, he just knew that wouldn't happen, but johnny's attempt at giving love advice was amusing.

"thank you, mr. seo. i know you didn't really want us to date in the first place, but thank you for the support. why were you so deeply against it anyways?" 

"that hasn't changed, jaemin. but i can't stop you two from loving each other. it's not right, and it's just a terrible thing to experience." johnny said as he led the younger out, "i already tried to forbid it in the beginning...i'm definitely in trouble." he mumbled.


	24. Chapter 24

jaemin was now on his tenth cup of coffee. sipping it despite his hands shaking around the cup. in the back of his mind he knew it wasn't healthy, but he was too out of it to care. he was bored and felt a little trapped since he had been in his dimly lit office room all day. because of this, he decided to take a trip to the copy room downstairs.

jaemin's steps were staggered but he managed to make it to the copy room. judging from the stares he was getting, he just knew he looked dead. none of this mattered to the young male one bit. the only thing on his mind was renjun. nothing new.

"jaemin?" the younger turned to face lucas who flinched at the sight of his appearance. "oh my god! what happened to your face?" he yelled. jaemin wasn't phased, he just shook his head waving the older off. another colleague who was in the room turned and examined jaemin himself.

"jaemin, what did i tell you about drinking too much coffee?" the man sighed, cupping jaemin's cheeks. he observed the younger's tired eyes and sad expression. he looked as if he was in a daze.

"i'm fine, taeyong...please.." jaemin swat the older's hands away. "where've you been, anyway? i haven't seen you in weeks." jaemin asked in hopes of changing the conversation.

"i went on a business trip, remember? we all just came back today." 

lucas and taeyong began their own little conversation about how the trip went while jaemin quietly slipped by them, in attempt to leave without them noticing. 

"no more coffee, alright?" taeyong gave the younger a stern look as he held his arm.

"fine..." 

—

"why is it suddenly so crowded today?" haechan complained as he entered their office. 

"all of our workers came back from their trip." renjun answered. he was focused on how he was going to handle his interview coming soon. he knew he couldn't back out now, especially since he already changed the date. so the last thing on his mind was wondering why it was crowded.

"guys," a voice called. the two males turned to meet ten's smile as he peeked his head through the open doorway, "mr. seo wants us in the meeting room. we have a new worker joining us today." renjun and haechan looked at each other before following ten out.

"why are we getting a new worker? do you know who it is?"

"is he cute?" ten and renjun stopped in their tracks, turning to look at the tanned male behind them. "what?" he shrugged innocently. ten rolled his eyes before he continued down the hallway.

"jeno quit so we had an open position. and no, i don't know who it is." ten answered some of their questions until they made their way into the meeting room that was crowded with people.

"okay guys, some of you may know him, but for those who don't, please welcome him." johnny's voice rang throughout the room.

the three males who had just entered struggled behind the large group of colleagues. pushing past them and standing on their toes to see who the new coworker was. once the three got in a good spot, they all froze.

"wow, he's beautiful." haechan stared at the male beside johnny in awe. he was tall, pale skinned, with fluffy orange hair. he stood smiling bashfully as he bowed, introducing himself.

renjun turned to look at ten whose face was drained of all it's color. renjun even thought he saw his eye twitch as he stared at the orange haired male in front of them. "ten? are you alright?" ten looked down and met eyes with renjun. he looked as if he was going to be sick.

"hello, everyone. my name is jungwoo, please take care of me." he smiled while everyone just clapped in return. renjun's mouth hung open after the male's introduction. he looked back up at ten, who was turning back into the crowd of people to leave. 

"ten! where are you—" renjun choked on his words as he made eye contact with jaemin. he was standing on the other side of the large table in the center of the room. renjun looked away quickly and acted as though he didn't see the younger, but he noticed he looked different. he was almost unrecognizable.

—

"i thought you two left off on good terms." renjun struggled to keep up with ten who was walking swiftly throughout the hallways. from going up a few sets of stairs to turning around sharp corners, the labyrinth hallways started to make the smaller male dizzy. 

ten just shook his head, "he is unbelievable..." he mumbled angrily. as ten got closer to his destination, renjun was quick to stop him after he realized what he was doing.

"stop! look, i know you're mad but there might be an explanation behind this. so don't go in there and accuse him of anything." renjun said, blocking johnny's office door. ten stopped trying to push past the younger and just stared at him. 

"what kind of explanation?" 

"well...uh..." renjun thought long and hard. he didn't think ten would actually stop and listen to him, "johnny has sacrificed a lot for you two, he wouldn't just do something to throw it all away. not if he doesn't have to." ten folded his arms, listening to every word. he did have a point.

"so what are you saying?"

"i'm saying it probably wasn't his choice, so it wouldn't be right for you to yell at him. just like you told me, don't shut him out completely. just listen." ten sighed in frustration, looking away from the younger. he hated that he was right.

"fine, i won't. i'll be right out." ten said, walking into johnny's office. it wasn't too long, but ten came out of the office looking as confused as ever. renjun stood to his feet, he had decided to sit outside and wait.

"so how did it go?"

"you were right. it wasn't his choice, jungwoo was hired back by mr. qian. but he was the one who didn't really want him there in the first place since he's in a relationship with lucas. so no one really knows the detail behind it." ten explained. there was something too suspicious about that. but who could they ask? 

"only one person here that we know of can really answer this. so we'll just have to confront lucas ourselves."


	25. Chapter 25

renjun and ten ran all the way back down the flight of stairs and back around those sharp corners to get to the editing and publisher's floor. they had to get to lucas before he left to go home. it was nearing closing time anyways, so there were very few people lingering now. but most of all, they had to get to him before jungwoo did. 

the two busted into the room, panting as they did so. to their surprise, the room was pretty full. it seemed as if they had interrupted a meeting. sicheng, lucas, mark, jaemin, and jungwoo. renjun and ten scanned the room while the five just stared at them in shock and confusion. 

"chittaphon, renjun! what brings you two here at such late hours?" jungwoo tilted his head innocently, a smile planted on his lips. ten stepped towards him but renjun stuck out his arm to hold him back. jungwoo saw that and smirked, enjoying the same powerful feeling he got just like old times.

"we were just...i needed to talk to an editor." renjun struggled to make up a lie. his face flushed red in embarrassment from everyone's stares.

"you mean jaemin? i could have sworn you two weren't so close anymore, hm?" renjun looked away, biting his lip so he didn't cry in front of everyone. he was a grown man, he didn't want to cry in front of everyone. ten instantly charged at jungwoo, ready to pounce but lucas stood up quickly. extending his arm, mimicking renjun's earlier action.

"jungwoo, stop." lucas said sternly. jungwoo playfully smiled at ten who stared holes into his skull. jaemin suddenly stood up and walked toward renjun, taking everyone by surprise.

"w-what are you doing?"

"you wanted to talk an editor, right?" jaemin sighed, not making eye contact with the older. renjun nodded hesitantly and jaemin led them out, holding the door for renjun as he did so. when the two stepped outside, renjun turned to the younger immediately.

"what are you really doing?" he tried to put on an angry expression as he folded his arms. 

"i should be asking you the same. because i know you aren't here for me, so who are you really here to see?" renjun was a little taken aback by the fact that jaemin caught on to their plan so quickly. 

"we need to talk to lucas but...jungwoo is here." he whispered the last part. jaemin wasn't exactly sure what ten and renjun were planning, but he was instantly ready to help. anything for renjun. jaemin didn't reply, he only nodded as he went back inside with the smaller male.

renjun felt uncomfortable since he hasn't been around the younger in a while, but also because he didn't know what jaemin had up his sleeve. when they walked back in, jaemin sat back down beside lucas. he was still trying to settle down jungwoo and ten who were at each other's throats.

"help me out here," lucas whispered, leaning into jaemin. jaemin chuckled dryly as he pointed towards renjun who stood by the door in front of them.

"he's here for you." he whispered back, leaning back in his seat. jaemin just stared at renjun, thinking back to all the memories they shared together. renjun just gave him an uneasy glance as lucas stood to join him.

"excuse us for a moment. i'll take ten with me so there's no chaos while we're gone." mark and sicheng only sat back and watched awkwardly. jungwoo sighed as he watched the three men leave the room.

"he's cute." 

the other three males turned to face jungwoo, "who is?" mark asked. jungwoo turned to look at them while he smiled mischievously.

"renjun." no one was phased by jungwoo's teasing anymore. it was annoying yet they learned to tolerate it over the years. still it had been a while since they had faced him, they didn't expect any less from the orange haired male.

—

"why do you guys think i know what's going on?" 

"because you're his boyfriend."

"good point..." lucas scratched the nape of his neck sheepishly. ten and renjun exchanged a glance before turning back towards lucas. it was obvious he knew something, but what did he have to hide?

"i know mr. qian hired jungwoo back, but why? relationships here are banned. and those are his words, not mine." ten rambled. the two waited, arms folded, for an answer.

"jungwoo didn't tell me he was coming back until last night..." lucas gulped, "he said he heard there was an open spot after jeno told him he quit and—"

"how does jungwoo know who jeno is? we joined the company way after jungwoo left." renjun said. lucas just shrugged before continuing,

"he's taking a publisher's position here. i don't know anything else." he finished.

"have you heard anything from jeno?" ten asked. lucas was a little intimidated since the two were questioning him so quickly. it was overwhelming and he didn't know if jungwoo would be hurt if he said something wrong.

"i have."

"yukhei?" a soft voice called out, "you guys have been talking in here for too long, i missed you." jungwoo walked into the room, wrapping his arms around lucas as he pout. "what were you guys talking about?" 

"nothing, darling. don't worry about it." lucas replied pecking his lips, "i'll see you guys tomorrow." ten and renjun waved as the couple finally left. 

"we have a lot of thinking to do." renjun sighed. his brain hurt from all the information they were just given, more questions flooding his head.

"you need to be thinking about your relationship with jaemin. did you see him? he hasn't been himself since that day. he looked dead, renjun." ten explained. renjun looked down at his hands, he knew ten was right but he didn't have the courage to face the younger. 

"yeah but...why so soon?"

"if not now, then when? he even helped us out today despite everything. and the way he stares at you should say everything," ten watched as renjun's face turned bright red, "i'm not telling saying you're the bad guy or anything. but i want you to see his side too. at the end of the day, it was jeno who wanted to get back at you."


	26. Chapter 26

ten and renjun both knew they needed to talk to lucas once again. jungwoo just had to interrupt their interrogation just as they were getting closer to finding their answer. it seemed as if jungwoo didn't want them to know something.

that next day, renjun and ten tried to find the perfect time to go talk to lucas. if johnny knew about what they were doing instead of working, he would be livid. so even though the pair wanted to march into lucas' office the second they entered the department, they had to wait until their break.

it was finally that time when the pair made their way upstairs again. they went into lucas' office but instead of getting some answers on jeno, they got some information that wasn't expected at all.

"look, i know jungwoo can be a little toxic to you guys—"

"a little?" 

lucas sighed, "okay maybe a lot, but you have to understand where it all came from. i'm not saying he's right all the time, but jungwoo is more sensitive than you think. he only started to be so aggressive when you two started your little rivalry." 

"jungwoo? sensitive?"

"don't you remember how shy he was? when he was interested in johnny he would get himself so worked up whenever you would talk with him. he felt like he had no chance since you were interested in him too." 

"so it's like a defense mechanism now?" renjun asked. lucas nodded, not wanting to tell the pair too much about his jungwoo. but enough so that they understood him. ten folded his arms looking away as he began to feel bad for jungwoo.

"i can't answer any more questions." lucas said while standing.

"what? why not?" ten stood too, following lucas. they were just getting to the point of things without any interruptions. he wasn't going to lose him now. 

"i know you guys want to know more about what's going on, but jungwoo is still my boyfriend. i shouldn't have been telling you what i already did, especially without him knowing. if you want to know more, you need to talk to jungwoo yourselves." 

—

"talk to jungwoo by ourselves? is he out of his damn mind?" renjun stayed quiet as ten ranted beside him. lucas was right, he had said he only heard from jeno through jungwoo, so they probably couldn't get much information anyways. "how are we even going to approach him? he might get hostile." renjun burst into a fit of laughter.

"what is he? an animal?" he laughed. ten didn't think it was funny since he was clearly serious about his questions. he had no interest in being nice and bowing down to jungwoo just to get information. "sorry, ten, you're overreacting just a little."

"whatever. but can we talk to him tomorrow? i'm not prepared for a conversation with him." the two agreed to talk to jungwoo that next day. while ten didn't look forward to it at all, renjun was excited. would they finally get down to the point? or would jungwoo get hostile like ten had—

renjun suddenly let out a small yelp that knocked him out of his thoughts. he was sent to the floor after he had hit whatever was in front of him. when he looked up, he wasn't even surprised when he met eyes with jaemin.

"i'm so sorry, you alright?" he asked helping renjun up. renjun just nodded as he stood up. and just like ten had said, renjun noticed that jaemin really hasn't been himself since that friday. he scanned the dark circles under his eyes and the fact that his hands were shaking. his face looked sunken in and despite the sadness behind his eyes, he still managed to stare at renjun with so much admiration.

"jaemin? i think we should talk." and just from those simple words, jaemin's face lit up. his eyes sparkled with so much hope and glee. he would finally be able to get the answers that were driving him insane. 

the two went inside jaemin's office and sat down in their usual seats. the two seemed a little uncomfortable since the last time they were both inside his office, it didn't end too well. "jaemin, i'm sorry for avoiding you..." renjun said awkwardly.

"don't be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. i should be the one apologizing for hurting you so much. i just...couldn't stand that look on your face before you ran out...and i just knew we wouldn't be the same after that." jaemin started to mumble but renjun was still able to catch his words.

"you don't be sorry either... i guess it isn't either of our faults. i came in here to give you a chance to tell me what happened. i didn't think it was your fault but...it just didn't look good at all..."

—

jungwoo laid in bed, staring at the ceiling as the thoughts from earlier struck his mind. he couldn't help but wonder why ten and renjun wanted to talk to lucas so suspiciously. he had been in lucas' office having the time of his life before the two walked in so abruptly, asking to talk to lucas alone.

"yukhei?" jungwoo turned over, tapping the giant beside him. lucas hummed in response, half asleep. "i'm sorry to wake you, but why did ten and renjun wanna talk to you?" he asked quietly. lucas, who was lying on his stomach, opened his eyes to look at his boyfriend. his head still resting on his folded arms. 

"ten is just looking out for renjun. why are you so worried?" his voice was deep and raspy. jungwoo traced his finger across his bare bicep before he answered,

"i don't want them to know why i was hired again. too embarrassing.." he murmured. lucas shifted his body so he was on his side facing the older. he rested his large hand on jungwoo's cheek as he stared at him through his heavy eyelids.

"don't be embarrassed. i understand why they would want to know, but i won't tell them anything you aren't comfortable with them knowing. so go to sleep and stop worrying, darling. okay?" jungwoo nodded, smiling before he connecting their lips. the kiss was slow and didn't last long considering how tired they were. so the two fell asleep in each other's arms.


	27. Chapter 27

"so you weren't flirting or anything? he just kissed you?" 

"yeah, i don't want to get into too much detail...i'm surprised you didn't see me try to get him off of me. i just wanted to give you your space but i can't help but wonder where we stand now. it's driving me insane." now jaemin was scared. of course he knew what he wanted but he needed to know if renjun wanted it too. 

"i think..." in the time the two stayed apart, renjun hadn't really thought about that. he didn't even know how to feel. he really loved jaemin but every time he looked at him or even heard his voice or his name, his heart broke all over again. "i think we should give it some more time. i don't mean we avoid each other with this tension, but i don't think i could go back to where i was with you before. not for a while." it hurt renjun to say that, but it was for the best. what hurt the latter even more was the look on jaemin's face.

"i understand." he replied. he could just feel his throat getting dry, "just please know that i'm here for you. with whatever you need, whenever...i'll wait for you." he said the last part quietly to himself.

renjun nodded, not hearing his last few words. he stood up and extended his hand awkwardly. he would give him a hug but he knew if he did, he would give in. jaemin hesitantly took his hand, shaking it. the silence between them was deadly as renjun made his way out and jaemin struggled to let go of his hand. but he had to, anything for renjun. as long as he was happy.

—

"i'm so stupid! what was i thinking then? i can't handle this!" renjun was close to ripping out his blonde strands. ten and haechan comforted him while they sat in the break room. he had just told them what he and jaemin discussed and he was regretting every word.

"it was a big step to even go talk to him, ren. don't be so hard on yourself." haechan said. renjun wiped the tears falling from his face as he nodded. 

"why didn't you just tell jaemin exactly what you've been telling us? that you still love him but you need time to get to that stage of your relationship." how did ten know all the right answers? renjun thought. even if he planned out their conversations and knew all the right words to say, he knew he would forget everything as soon as he approached the younger.

"it's not that easy..." renjun sighed. ten and haechan both knew it wasn't easy but they had to keep reminding renjun that it's possible just by talking things out. everyone knows communication is key but it can easily slip your mind when it comes to a situation like this.

"i know." ten and haechan said in unison. which resulted in ten and renjun giving the latter a strange look. "what? i struggle to voice out my opinion with the person i'm interested in too." 

"haechan struggling to share his opinion? in what universe?" ten laughed sarcastically. 

"wait? since when were you interested in someone?" renjun asked, interrupting ten's laughter. the tanned male turned beet red. "we've been worried about jaemin and i all this time, and we didn't even bother to take interest in your love life. i'm sorry." 

"no, no! i was too embarrassed to say anything anyways..."

"okay, so who's the guy?" ten asked, cutting straight to the chase. this sort of thing always reminded renjun of high school, not that he was complaining. he too, was curious right with ten. 

"so you just assume it's a guy?" haechan argued, crossing his arms over his chest. ten rolled his eyes, it was obvious the younger was stalling. 

"it definitely wouldn't be a girl. who are you trying to fool?" haechan looked away, fidgeting in his seat. "don't tell me it's someone at the office!" ten put his hand up, not wanting haechan to say anything. haechan's face was enough to give them their answer.

"please, tell me they're the same rank as us. we can't handle anymore shenanigans right now." renjun squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating haechan's next few words.

"you guys know...mark?"

"aww, come on!"

"are you kidding me?" the two yelled, haechan flinched at the sound of their outbursts. 

"i'm sorry! this is why i didn't wanna tell you." haechan covered his face. he just knew he shouldn't have said anything about mark. this was exactly why he stayed silent. he just couldn't help himself, i mean come on. look at him. 

—

jungwoo sent lucas off to work while he stayed home. he knew it wasn't the best idea considering it was his first week at the office, but it was definitely for a good reason. his friend had come over for comfort and advice yet again that week, and jungwoo was always open to giving the younger male just that.

"i'm sorry i keep bothering you, jungwoo." the younger male said while entering the luxurious house, shutting the door behind him. jungwoo smiled and shook his head.

"no problem, jeno. what's the matter?"

"i don't know if i can keep the job you got me. it's nice and all, but i have no passion for serving food at a restaurant." jeno explained while the two made their way to the couch. after quitting his job at the department, he knew he couldn't waste any time in getting another job. luckily he ran into jungwoo who had faced the same thing years before.

"oh come on, you'll get used to it." 

"i doubt it. my friend, chenle, already works there as one of the cooks. it just had to be someone i knew. not to mention he's loud." jeno cringed at the memory of chenle yelling and laughing in jeno's ear every time he messed something up. chenle and jeno weren't too close after what he did to renjun, but they still got along.

"you're thinking about coming back, aren't you?" jungwoo questioned. jeno looked a little uneasy since jungwoo was able to read his mind so quickly. he knew he couldn't go back to the department, everyone most likely hated him. "what's on your mind?" 

"renjun is. i feel terrible, jungwoo. i threw our friendship away all because of my own insecurities. i didn't know what i was thinking." hot tears welled up in jeno's eyes but he quickly wiped them away. he shouldn't be crying, not after what he put renjun through. 

"say that to him. you guys might not be friends again but you need to let him know that you're already aware of that. just apologize to him." jeno shook his head. jungwoo was only trying to be helpful but jeno didn't think he understood.

"do you know what i said to him that day? i told him that he now knows how it feels to lose his happiness. hell, i would hate myself too! i said it straight to his face despite him sobbing in front of me." jeno buried his face in his arm, still trying to stop the tears from falling. jungwoo engulfed the aforementioned into a hug.

"jeno, you have to do what makes you happy and hold your head high. if that means going back to the department, go for it. but you know you have to apologize to renjun either way." jungwoo advised as he rubbed circles on the younger's back, "trust me, i know how it feels to be hated."


	28. Chapter 28

"you wanted to talk to me?" jungwoo pointed to himself before softly fiddling with his shirt collar. he was always curious as to what ten and renjun would be talking to lucas about, but he never thought they would ask him. despite his worrying, he had to hold his head high and not show them that.

"no we came in here for a pencil." ten was quick to fire back. renjun gave him a warning glance before he smiled back at jungwoo.

"uh- yes. we wanted to ask you some questions. if that's okay with you of course!" renjun was quick to ask for the older's permission. he had never really interacted with the orange haired male so he didn't know what to expect. ten was just waiting to leave at this point. he knew jungwoo wouldn't answer anything. 

"i don't mind.." jungwoo smiled slightly as he sat down at his desk. renjun sat down across from him while ten took the empty desk beside jungwoo. he was beyond surprised to hear that jungwoo had even agreed to this.

"we heard you have been speaking to jeno lately. is that true?" renjun asked carefully. he didn't want to hit a nerve that would push jungwoo away and deprive them of their answers. jungwoo looked over at ten who hadn't look away from him that whole time.

"yes, it is. are you interested in seeing him?" jungwoo asked turning back to renjun. renjun was slightly intimidated by jungwoo since he knew his aggressive tendencies, but he was so sweet at the same time. the combination was deadly. jungwoo smiled widely, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "don't be scared, i don't bite." 

"just answer the damn questions, jungwoo. we don't need you flirting." ten slammed his fist on the desk to refrain himself from pouncing on the latter.

"no...i actually really don't want to see him. but i was curious to know how and why you two started interacting? it just doesn't make sense." jungwoo was quiet for a moment. he narrowed his eyes at the nervous male in front of him. he knew renjun and ten were trying to pull something out of him.

"it's no secret. i pick up lucas from work sometimes and i ran into him a couple of weeks ago."

"what day?"

"the friday he quit." jungwoo watched as renjun and ten glanced at each other. he knew exactly what they wanted to hear and he wasn't going to give it to them. he could tell them about why he had conversations with jeno anytime, but he wasn't going to tell them why he was hired back by mr. qian. 

"i know what you guys are trying to get out of me," jungwoo sighed, "ask me about jeno all you want but nothing more." and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure no one would find out why either. 

—

jaemin was relaxing at lucas' house. the tall male had invited him over along with sicheng, mark, and another male he had just met. his name was kun. 

"where is mark?" jaemin asked.

"he couldn't make it. he's on a date or something." lucas replied. the group talked about work the whole entire time. jaemin was surprised lucas and sicheng didn't bring up him and renjun like usual. it was almost as if they were purposefully avoiding that topic. not that jaemin minded, he didn't really want to discuss it either.

"what happened when you went out to talk with renjun and ten the other day?" sicheng asked.

"they just asked me if i heard from jeno." jaemin frowned. why would they want to know jeno's whereabouts after what happened? so that's exactly what jaemin asked lucas.

"i don't know. they keep asking me questions about jungwoo and jeno. i don't know much so i told them to talk to jungwoo." lucas answered. there was something suspicious about that and it didn't sit right with jaemin at all. sicheng didn't seem to care too much but kun was listening closely to every word.

"what's going on at the department that's causing those two to question people? i figured i would hear about it if something bad happened." kun spoke up. lucas and sicheng's eyes doubled in size, blood rushing to their faces. jaemin didn't understand why they looked so panicked or why kun said he would know if something bad happened at the department. especially when he didn't work there.

"why would you know if something bad happened? i've never seen you around the office." 

"lucas didn't tell you? i work with the ceo of the entire company." now it was jaemin's turn to panic. kun scanned the three male's faces, raising his eyebrow. he just knew something was going on.

"is it because of the new employee? jungwoo?" none of them knew how to answer that. of course lucas assumed that was the case since that was all renjun would ask about, but jaemin on the other hand was completely lost. and sicheng? he didn't seem to care too much. 

"we don't really know much either, mr. qian." 

"lucas, i told you to call me kun." 

lucas nodded, "don't worry, nothing...happened. they're probably just wondering why jungwoo was hired or something." yes. that's exactly what ten and renjun were wondering. lucas had blindly hit the nail on the head. jaemin had found himself to be the only who caught on to that oddly specific guess of his. he wasn't going to tell anyone, but he was going to try to figure out why ten and renjun were creeping around.

—

renjun and ten were on the hunt again. this time, they had came to the conclusion that they were gonna tell johnny all the information they had picked up. "i don't think i can go up anymore." renjun panted as he crouched down. ten rolled his eyes, taking renjun's hand and dragged him the rest of the way until they ran into jaemin.

"where are you two going?" he put a hand out to stop them. ten was a little surprised but he didn't let the younger stop him.

"none of your business." ten pushed past jaemin and continued walking with renjun in his hand.

"why do you guys want to know why jungwoo was hired? does it really matter?" jaemin smirked slightly when he saw ten and renjun freeze. slowly the two turned back around to face jaemin. both renjun and ten were confused on how jaemin knew what they were doing. if he knew, then who else was catching onto them? it was just another mystery they had to add to their list.


	29. Chapter 29

"what do you know? are you apart of this too?"

"apart of what? you two are suspiciously creeping around, we've all noticed by now. and just to find out why the guy was hired?" jaemin chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. renjun's face flushed red in embarrassment. he didn't appreciate the younger laughing at him as if he was stupid.

"just stay out of the way, jaemin." renjun turned around and continued to walk to johnny's office. ten was tempted to tell jaemin off too, but he knew it was best for him to stay out of it. 

jaemin obviously knew what they were looking for, so he asked lucas himself. and the reasoning behind jungwoo joining the company again was completely unexpected and unfortunate. it was none of renjun's business either so it didn't make sense as to why the older was so eager to find out.

renjun on the other hand wanted to figure this out because he suspected jeno was trying to sabotage him yet again. meeting up with jungwoo, someone that doesn't get along with many people here, and suddenly he's hired? he was doing this for his own sanity and concern. what if he was trying to get renjun fired?

"come on, i'm tired of waiting for answers." ten said as he barge into johnny's office. the two froze when they saw two other men in the room with him. renjun hadn't recognized either of them, but by the looks of ten's face, it wasn't good. "m-mr. qian...mr. jung..." ten gulped, forcing a smile onto his face. 

"just as i suspected." mr. jung gave johnny a glance. "why are you two running around like this? don't you have an interview soon?" he motioned to renjun who nodded nervously.

"we were just...um.."

"it's about jungwoo, is it not?" mr. qian spoke up. johnny just buried his face in his hand that was resting in his lap. now before things got any worse, ten had to take a deep breath and answer the men before him, so they didn't get into anymore trouble.

"not necessarily, mr. qian. it's about jeno, the one who quit." mr. jung and mr. qian looked to each other for an answer but got nothing. 

"so we're missing something. something obviously happened that you aren't telling me, and it's causing these two to get into our business." mr. jung said to johnny. before johnny could reply, the situation just had to get worse. "oh, thank you for bringing him up, mr. wong." 

everyone turned their attention to the door and watched as both jungwoo and lucas entered. and just by looking at who was in the room, lucas started to panic. "you can stay here too." mr. jung said to him. jungwoo stepped forward and stood next to ten and renjun, lucas stayed close to the door. "did you know they wanted to know why you were hired?" 

jungwoo nodded, "after a while, i figured that's why they kept questioning me." not only was mr. jung and mr. qian confused, but johnny was too. why would ten, out of all people, be questioning jungwoo?

"questioning you? kun, johnny? did you know about this?" the two males shook their heads. "why did jeno quit so suddenly, hm?" everyone was too afraid to speak up. all except for jungwoo.

"he felt terrible for ruining his friendship with renjun. that's all." everyone was surprised by the fact that jungwoo didn't tell him the details about the situation. 

"kun? you hired jungwoo back, yes?" kun nodded, "why? aren't you in a relationship with lucas?" now jungwoo was nervous. 

"jaehyun, can we please discuss this alone? just the three of us? it's no one else's business as to why jungwoo was hired." johnny said taking jungwoo's side. kun nodded in agreement so jaehyun gave in. lucas and jungwoo both visibly relaxed as the tension was slightly lifted. though, ten looked as if he was about to explode.

"you knew why jungwoo was hired?" he asked through gritted teeth, johnny shuttered. from the look ten was giving him, he knew he was sleeping on the couch tonight. "johnny seo, you lied to me!" 

"so what? it's not your business anyways." jungwoo said. and that sent ten over the roof. he turned to the orange haired male beside him and raised his fist. renjun couldn't even process what was happening with all the commotion that was going on. but he did see the door open revealing jaemin, who soon left after he saw what was going on.

lucas and johnny jumped out of their seats, rushing to stop ten from hitting jungwoo. there was yelling and arguing in the midst of lucas holding jungwoo back, johnny doing the same for ten.

"don't touch me, idiot!" ten shrugged johnny off of him. and johnny knew better than to not listen to ten. especially now, so he stepped away from the male. lucas still stayed in the middle, using all of his strength to hold jungwoo away from ten. ten looked around at everyone, breathing heavily. 

no one said a word. jaehyun and kun just watched the scene unfold, standing too, just in case it got worse. renjun, lucas, and johnny just stared, wide eyed, waiting for ten's next move. ten would be lying if he said he wasn't embarrassed. so after thinking long and hard, he sighed as he came to a conclusion. 

"ten, what are you doing?" renjun asked as he watched ten pull off his lanyard and slam it on johnny's desk. 

"i quit."and just like before, no one could find the right words to say. they were completely shocked but they didn't want to say anything that would make ten mad even more. the aforementioned stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. renjun gave johnny a disappointed look before he chased after the older.

"ten! wait!" ten wasn't running but his pace was hard for the smaller male to match. he finally caught up to him as he jogged, making their way down the stairs. "why would you quit? after all it took to get you here?" ten turned to younger, his eyes glossy but not yet filled with tears. the situation was all too familiar to renjun. but this time, the roles were reversed.


	30. Chapter 30

"i understand why he didn't tell me since it isn't my business, but he embarrassed me in front of jungwoo!" ten practically growled, feeling himself get angry all over again. renjun just shook his head, unable to process anything.

"i get it, but you have to see johnny's side of it too. i mean, i bet he's been facing a lot of pressure lately." ten scoffed, rolling his eyes 

"i don't want to be here if jungwoo is going to be here and that's just it," ten said, "you can tell johnny to have fun finding a place to sleep tonight because he's not sleeping with me." ten was stern and determined with his words. renjun just watched as ten stormed down the rest of the stairs. mostly likely going to his office to pack up his things. 

as renjun stood in the middle of the staircase, his mind filled with many thoughts, he remembered what johnny had said before. he had said he didn't know why jungwoo was hired at all, so why did he know now? jaehyun didn't even know why either, only kun. johnny said that kun didn't tell him, so that only leaves a couple of people. lucas, jungwoo, and jaemin. those were the people that renjun knew that were aware of the whole jungwoo situation. so to tame his wild thoughts, renjun went straight to jaemin's office.

"renjun?" jaemin was shocked to see renjun in his office, especially when there was no scheduled meeting. he wasn't complaining though, he loved his presence anyways.

"jaemin, you know why jungwoo was hired?" renjun asked as he closed the door. jaemin sighed, of course renjun wanted to know that. 

"why are you so concerned with him?" 

"just answer the question!" 

"yes! i do know why he was hired. now answer mine." jaemin's voice was hard and deep now. renjun got chills by just listening to it. jaemin had never raised his voice like that to him, or to anyone.

"he's...he's been talking to jeno a lot lately. he joined the department because jeno quit. doesn't that sound suspicious to you?" jaemin was silent for a moment. even though he was fully aware of why jungwoo was there, he never heard about any of that.

"how can you be so sure?"

"jungwoo told me." jaemin's eyes were wide. that did sound suspicious, but it couldn't have been bad if jungwoo told him so easily. i mean, there's no reason for jungwoo and jeno to plot against renjun. 

"if he told you, i doubt they're plotting anything."

"but he said—" renjun paused, remembering what jungwoo had said in the office earlier. 'he felt terrible for ruining his friendship with renjun. that's all.' renjun couldn't believe that, his mind just wouldn't wrap around that fact. it was simple and easy to understand but, renjun couldn't help but be suspicious.

"i think you should think about jeno now. you've known him the longest, so you would know him best. from how he thinks and how he copes with situations." jaemin stood up and walked towards the older, "if want answers, go to the source. it's not my place to tell you jungwoo's business." jaemin was now inches away from the smaller male's face, looking down at him. renjun met his gaze and they stayed like that until jaemin turned back to his seat. he knew if he stayed so close to his lips like that, his body would betray him. 

without looking back, renjun quickly left the office. his face flushed after his close encounter with him. as soon as he exited the office, he met with haechan was coming out of mr. lee's office next door. "what are you doing in jaemin's office?" haechan's jaw dropped as he ran over to renjun, scanning his face. renjun pushed him back as he tried to get by him.

"nothing, haechan. i could ask you the same thing." 

"you're blushing!— ouch!" haechan gripped his arm tightly after renjun punched him, hard. "okay, okay! jeez...i was gonna ask you if you wanted to hangout later." after all this mess at work, renjun needed to decompress so he agreed.

—

haechan had dragged renjun around for hours now. they went from the mall, small thrift stores, and to a record store. now the two walked through the busy streets of seoul, their hands full of bags while they munched on some food they grabbed after their shopping spree.

"hey, i don't remember this being here." haechan pointed to the club that they were approaching. 

"me neither. it's probably new." haechan gave renjun a smirk that he knew all too well, "absolutely not."

"come on, it'll be fun! plus a drink would help relax you a little bit." haechan tried to be as convincing as possible but renjun just rolled his eyes. the tanned male sighed, he didn't want to do this but renjun left him with no other choice.

"please, come to the club with me! i won't make fun of you anymore if you do! i'm begging you." haechan cried out dramatically as he dropped to his knees. he faked out some more cries as he gripped onto renjun's legs, earning weird stares from those walking by them.

"okay, okay! just get up and shut up already!" renjun practically growled, pulling haechan up to his feet. immediately the younger stood, brushing the dirt off of his knees. his expression going back to normal as if he didn't just cause a scene.

"alright, loser. let's drop these bags off at home and come back in an hour." 

the pair did just that. they brought their bags home and freshened themselves up a bit. renjun began to regret agreeing to go with the younger since he wasn't a fan of clubbing or any sort of parties in general. it was literally just being surrounded by horny and drunk people in the dark.

"you ready to go?" haechan asked, renjun shook his head. "well you can't go out looking like that." renjun looked down at his clothes. a white supreme t-shirt and black sweat pants might have been little too casual for the club but renjun didn't even want to go in the first place.

"what else should i wear?"

and that's how renjun ended up wearing black skinny jeans, a low necked t-shirt, and a black jacket that sparkled when the light hit it. renjun didn't think it was much different than what he was wearing before, but haechan couldn't stop staring at his work. "now you're ready." he grinned. not only did haechan choose renjun's outfit, but he dyed his hair. 

"don't you think this is a bit much for the club? i mean it's just one night." renjun shrugged, looking at his now platinum blonde hair that slowly merged into a rich purple color. it was nice but he thought it was bit over the top.

"no way! you look amazing plus you'll feel good with this new look after everything that's been going on."


	31. Chapter 31

it was getting closer to evening, jaemin had been laying in bed ever since his shift ended earlier. to say the least, he was enjoying himself. that was until he heard someone knock at his door, catching him by surprise. with a loud groan, jaemin reluctantly got out of bed and opened the door. there mark was with his bright pink hair, dressed nicely as if he was going somewhere.

"what are you doing here?" 

"you cancelled our plans on hanging out together last time, so we're going out tonight. you agreed to it too." jaemin squeezed his eyes shut. he almost forgot he blindly agreed to go clubbing with this dork. and to be frank, he was doing fine laying around all day.

"don't try to renege now. hurry and get dressed." mark pushed jaemin as he walked inside behind him.

—

"are you sure they came here?" 

"yes i'm sure, yuta. just park the car already." doyoung said, observing the two as they walked in.

—

jaemin sat at a spot where he could see almost everything. he had already noticed that renjun was there. he didn't want to approach him so he stayed away from the older male, but he definitely wasn't leaving. haechan was probably dancing somewhere which left renjun alone and very vulnerable at the bar. it was so easy for someone to put something in his drink or to just grab his small body right then and there. and being that they were in the midst of drunks made it no better.

suddenly he saw yuta and doyoung enter. that's when he started to get suspicious. he always seemed to see them creeping around whenever something happened between him and renjun. it was already a coincidence that he and renjun were both there. he watched as yuta walked over to the bar, sitting beside renjun as he ordered a drink.

the two were talking and yuta managed to make renjun laugh just like jaemin used to. jaemin definitely wasn't leaving now. he looked to his side to tell mark, but mark was already drunk and making out with—

"mark? what are you— haechan?" 

"oh shit...sorry, jaemin."

"let's go somewhere private." haechan said. jaemin just stared in slight surprise, slight disgust. he looked back at yuta, who had been drinking way to much already as he started leading renjun somewhere. the two suspiciously disappearing in the midst of the intoxicated crowd. without thinking, jaemin immediately followed them. struggling to get by those who were dancing, making out, or the ones trying to hook up and flirt with him.

jaemin began to panic as he couldn't find the pair. they could be anywhere by now. just as he was about to go back to his seat in the back, he heard renjun's familiar voice. it sounded as if he was scared or in distress, and that's what scared him the most.

"yuta...that's enough..." he heard. it sounded like he struggled to get out just those simple words. he definitely had to be close considering he's hearing all of that. it went silent for a moment, jaemin couldn't hear him anymore until suddenly he heard a loud gasp.

"yuta, stop! g-get off!" 

and almost by instinct, jaemin instantly turned to the back corner of the club. what he saw infuriated him. the whole idea of leaving renjun alone was the last thing on his mind at that very moment as he rushed over to him. pushing people out of his way if he had to. 

yuta was sitting beside renjun, leaning down so he was somewhat on top of his small frame. it was a tight space so they couldn't do much. renjun was pushing at him, even hitting him as he tried to get yuta off. yuta just took his hands and pinned them down with ease as he started kissing down renjun's neck.

before he could do anymore, jaemin snatched yuta away from renjun with all of his strength. this sent yuta to the floor though he got up to retaliate. renjun sat up quickly and watched the scene unfold in front of him. yuta when to hit jaemin but missed due to how drunk he was. jaemin instantly grabbed him and lifted his fist to punch him but renjun ran over to them quickly.

"stop! don't do it!"

jaemin looked down at the older then back at yuta. even though he really wanted to murder him, he didn't. he pushed him down harshly before turning back to renjun. "are you alright?" he asked. now renjun's mind had realized who he was talking to. his body froze though he was able to nod slowly.

"i'm going home." renjun started walking away but jaemin reached his hand out to block him.

"i assume you came with haechan?"

"what? are you stalking me?"

"no. i came here with mark but he left to be somewhere with haechan." jaemin explained. renjun just stood there awkwardly. there was no where else for him to go and he felt his heart ache just by knowing jaemin was in front of him. and during this whole exchange, he made sure not to look at him. he knew he would surely break down if he did.

"i'll take you home." doyoung said, joining the two. renjun didn't even get a chance to reply back when jaemin scoffed.

"your sleazy ass came in here watching renjun in the first place. don't think i didn't see you and yuta walk in and head straight for renjun." doyoung's face went pale, clearing his throat awkwardly as he tried to find his words.

"let's go, it isn't safe here." jaemin gently took renjun's hand and took them outside. he wasn't going to force renjun to let him take him home, but he wanted to at least ask him in a more safe environment than that club.

"now you don't have to, but would you like me to just take you straight home? nowhere else." jaemin was really trying to convince him now. he wanted to make sure renjun was safe at all costs. he didn't care if they weren't on good terms at the moment. even though he wanted to just engulf renjun into a hug and finally kiss him, renjun's safety came first. 

"okay.." renjun gave in reluctantly. he seemed a little shaken up by what just happened. his lips were swollen and there were faint marks on his pale collarbone that made jaemin's blood boil. 

the car ride was silent. and this time, it was the kind of silence no one wanted to be in. jaemin occasionally looked over at the male, making sure he was doing okay. and despite his disheveled state, renjun still managed to look absolutely beautiful in jaemin's eyes.


	32. Chapter 32

jaemin pulled up to renjun's apartment but instead of getting out, the two just sat in silence. the situation was all too familiar, and renjun missed it. everything used to be so simple before jeno messed everything up, before jungwoo joined the company. now their minds were elsewhere, but in the back of their minds they knew that they truly missed this. being together. 

"this brings make memories, huh?" jaemin smiled. 

renjun smiled too, "it used to be so simple then. i don't know what happened." renjun thought aloud. jaemin looked over to meet his gaze, and he saw that he was thinking the same thing too. they didn't know whether to make a move or to stay silent. 

"jeno happened," jaemin chuckled dryly, "you've been so caught up with jungwoo as well. you and ten." renjun knew jaemin was right, he had been a little too caught up with the whole jungwoo situation but it was for a good cause.

"i was just looking out for myself. i mean...who knows what else jeno has up his sleeve? he could be trying to get me fired." jaemin shrugged. 

"he could be," renjun looked at the younger in suspicion," but he might not be. who cares? he can't do too much." jaemin gently took the older's hand, rubbing his thumb over his birthmark. renjun was tense, though he just sat back and watched the younger.

"i'm glad you can still talk to me about these things...you know, with everything that happened you're still so honest with me. i..uh..really admire that about you." jaemin cut his eyes up to meet the older's gaze. renjun looked away and retracted his hand. he didn't want to give in so easily, i mean everything still hurt and he knew if he fell for jaemin's charms again, he would give in instantly.

"if i'm being honest," renjun sighed. he couldn't believe he was going to voice out his thoughts, "i'm really disappointed jeno got to kiss you...before i did." he exhaled, keeping his gaze towards the sidewalk outside. 

"don't worry about him anymore, okay? that kiss meant nothing to me so let's just pretend it never happened." 

"i wish i could, jaemin. i've tried so hard but i can't help it. it happened right before my eyes!" renjun tugged at his hair, "if i could erase the image from my mind, maybe it would be a little less difficult to deal with. but every time i look at you, jaemin, it hurts to know his lips have been there before mine."

"renjun, please don't—"

"not to mention what just happened back there with yuta? if you weren't there he could've...he just wouldn't get off of me..." renjun didn't know what came over him, he was never the type to talk about his feelings like this. especially not to jaemin. 

he felt himself feeling exactly the way he did the day of the incident and he couldn't help but cry. he was quick to wipe his tears, not wanting to show the younger that weak side of him. but the tears wouldn't stop falling. 

"please, don't cry," jaemin's eyes widened, full of concern as he saw renjun so upset yet again. he hated it more than anything. quickly, he reached over to cup the older's face, wiping his tears away. "renjun, look me..." he wasn't sure what he was planning to do, but he let his feelings take over. renjun looked at the younger and before he could even blink, he felt their lips connect. 

without thinking, renjun shut his eyes and kissed back. his hand rested on jaemin's shoulder, while the jaemin's large hand gently held his jaw. it wasn't too heated or rough, but sweet and gentle. renjun could tell he was being careful not to hurt him yet he was still showing all his love for him through his actions. jaemin just wanted that moment to last forever, even though the kiss was slow, felt as if it ended so quickly. in a swift motion, renjun pulled away covering his lips in pure shock of the situation.

"i shouldn't have done that..." 

jaemin felt a little sad after hearing that but he understood renjun was still suffering from what happened. and like he had said before, he would be patient and wait for him no matter how long it would take. " 'm sorry..." the younger watched as renjun tried to collect himself, being in such a flustered state. he then took off his seatbelt and made his way out.

"thank you for...helping me and taking me home." he said quickly before shutting the door and scurrying inside his apartment.

"welcome..." jaemin sighed, shifting the gear to drive as he pulled out of the complex.

—

renjun was overwhelmed with so many emotions. his hands were shaking as he struggled to put the key into his apartment doorknob. his face was still flushed red after the kiss, his lips swollen along with his eyes from crying. 

"renjun?"renjun gasped embarrassingly loud, turning towards the person who called him.

"sorry...can i talk to you?"

renjun had no words. he just stared at the male before him, trying to process what was going on along with what he had just asked of him. he was just so caught up with what happened at the club with yuta, the kiss, and his feelings has for jaemin. this was the last person he wanted to see and talk to, at that very moment especially.

"j-jeno...i can't right now. please." renjun shook his head, shutting his eyes as he turned back to open his door.

"please! renjun...just five minutes." jeno had come a little closer now, he was able to see renjun's disheveled state and the fact that his hands were shaking. 

"f-fine, we can...we can talk. but only five minutes." renjun led jeno into his apartment. he couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with the younger, the pain of the betrayal was still there. jeno spoke up after the two sat down on the couch with some distance between them. 

"i know you hate me and i understand that completely. i also know that you probably won't forgive me and that what we had will never be the same. but i came here to apologize because that's the least i can do," jeno said, "i owe it to you. if i could take back what i did, i would. i was jealous of your success and i let my feelings control me. i'm really sorry and i just wanted you to know that. not for you to forgive me, not for us to be friends again, but because i still care about you." 

the older just kept his focus at his feet. nothing changed with the way he was feeling. it was the same thing as before except he was overwhelmed even more. probably more surprised now. he never had anything to say to jeno let alone after he said all of this? what could he say? what could he do?

"i appreciate your apology, jeno. i really do. you hurt me so much...i can't even look at you in the eye with that same respect that i had for you before. i can't look at jaemin the same either, not after seeing...that." 

"i get it...thank you for listening to me but, that's not all i wanted to talk to you about."


	33. Chapter 33

"no, johnny. i'm not letting you walk into my house after you lied straight to my face." ten crossed his arms over his chest. he stared up at the older with a frown as he blocked him off.

"your house? you mean our house."

"i said what i said." johnny went to the right to get by, but ten followed him. so johnny went to the left, and ten mimicked his movements again. 

"ten, please..." johnny sighed. ten was stern and determined. he was not letting johnny pass through the doorway to their shared home. johnny didn't wanna have to do this, but he was left with no other choice. he leaned down, wrapping his arms around the younger's small frame and threw ten over his shoulders. 

"what are you— put me down, you oaf!" ten kicked and squirmed in his grasp, but johnny's grip only tightened. he walked the younger over to the couch and placed him down. ten's mouth hung agape as he stared up at johnny who flashed him a mischievous grin, making his way to the kitchen. "johnny, i said get out!" the younger followed him.

johnny leaned on the counter eating pudding as he listened to his boyfriend rant and yell at him for what felt like hours. "and that's exactly why i didn't trust you before! you're always pulling something new out of your ass without telling me!" ten huffed, using his hands to push his bangs aside. though he had just poured out all of his emotions, johnny's expression remained unbothered.

"do you trust me now?" 

"what?"

"do you trust me? you said you didn't trust me before, right?" johnny threw out his pudding cup before turning back to his boyfriend who was flushed red, pouting.

"i wanna trust you, youngho, but you really embarrassed me back there with jungwoo. i know it's work and everything...can you at least tell me before hand?" ten looked up to meet johnny's gaze. the older just looked up as if he was deep in thought. "it's stupid, i know. just forget what i said, i'm just being selfish." the younger felt two strong hands on waist before he was brought close into johnny's chest.

"it isn't stupid if that's how you feel. i know i should have talked it over with you and i'm sorry, okay? don't be so hard on yourself, you aren't being selfish, baby." ten wrapped his arms around johnny, resting his head against his chest.

"i think— i love you..."

"what? you think?" johnny pulled away.

"no! i meant 'i love you' i didn't mean to say 'i think!'" johnny just shook his head in disbelief, folding his arms mimicking ten's earlier position.

"i'm serious! i— i was gonna— oh my gosh..." ten covered his face in embarrassment while johnny laughed, watching him get flustered without him having to do much.

"you're cute when you're angry." pushing his bangs back, johnny kissed ten's forehead before walking out of the kitchen. ten slowly removed his hands from his face as he heard johnny walking up the stairs.

"idiot..."

—

"i get it...thank you for listening to me but, that's not all i wanted to talk to you about."

"what do you mean?" renjun wasn't too alarmed. he had already had too many surprises today and he was tired.

"i know you probably don't want me to meddle in between this anymore than i did, but because i still care about you i thought you should—"

"jeno, quit stalling and tell me. if not, you can just leave." jeno gulped, nodding before he continued. even though he had already messed this up for renjun, it still felt as if he was doing it again by telling the older this. slowly, he reached into his back pocket to grab his phone, after scrolling for a bit he turned the screen to face the older. 

renjun leaned forward, squinting his eyes, "what's this?" he took the phone from jeno's shaking hand to see for himself. after renjun enhanced the screen with his two fingers, jeno got chills as he saw all the color from renjun's face drain.

"i-i was scared to tell you since i've done enough. but you deserve to know. doyoung sent it...sent it to me earlier..." jeno's voice trailed as he saw small drops landing on his phone screen forming puddles. "i'm really sorry, renjun. about everything. i know you need a moment and i'm the last person you'd want to see right now, but i'll still support you from afar." jeno walked over to renjun, taking his phone back and rubbed his shoulder before leaving. 

renjun had made his way into bed, lying on his back as he stared the ceiling. his body was numb and so was every emotion trapped inside of him. he knew they were just a mess but he didn't feel it one bit. he was just too exhausted, too disappointed, too numb. the only thing that ran though his mind was that video clip over and over again.

he just couldn't believe it. he didn't want to. what hurt renjun even more was the fact that jaemin had kissed him after all that. he had probably helped him away from yuta only to hide the truth. it was clear to the older that jaemin didn't care about him. he only cares about himself. he thought as tears continued to roll down his temples.

he regretted every waking moment he spent with that man. every living second. he trusted him and even continued to have some sort of relationship even after the incident with jeno. now this on top of it? it's just didn't make sense. nothing made sense. his stomach churned at the horrid memory. he didn't just witness jeno, his ex-best friend kiss his boyfriend, but jaemin turned back around and make out with yuta that same night.


	34. Chapter 34

renjun had come back to the department, tired. he just wanted to go home after the way that interview went. he didn't even feel like getting out of bed that morning. he hadn't even spoken to anyone at all. not even haechan or ten. considering the fact that they shared a office room together, haechan instantly took notice to the older's odd behavior.

"so how did the interview go?"

"terrible." haechan sighed as he sat beside renjun. 

"why's that?" renjun didn't reply right away as he didn't want to talk in the first place. even though it wasn't the entire reason behind his sadness, renjun decided to make up a lie and tell the younger that he was just nervous. "oh come on, renjun. it's clearly not the interview that's bothering you. you're amazing at talking to people so it couldn't have went that terribly."

now the older was trapped. he guessed this was going to happen sooner or later. he should've know his childhood best friend would be able to read him like an open book. as much as renjun wanted to tell him what happened, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. not without breaking down in front of him and renjun surely didn't want to do that. 

"was it what happened with the boss in johnny's office? did jungwoo do something?" haechan didn't want to force renjun to tell him anything, but he was beginning to get frustrated and impatient as the older just shook his head after each suggestion. "you don't have to tell me anything i guess. i just want to help you, but it's hard to do that when i don't know what's going on. the last time i saw you like this was with that whole jaemin situation."

renjun never really minded haechan bringing up the jaemin and jeno situation, but that was only recently as he's been slowly recovering. when haechan brought jaemin up now, his reaction was different. and like haechan said before, renjun had only acted this way the day of the incident so it had to be about jaemin or jeno at least.

"which one?" 

"what?"

"jaemin or jeno?" haechan asked while standing. he didn't know which one of them hurt his best friend, but he was ready to fight both of them regardless. 

"stop! just sit down, alright?" renjun pulled the younger's wrist so that he was sitting down again. "i don't want to make another scene...and it was jaemin..."

"i should've known..."

"listen, jeno came over last night and told me everything. he even apologized too. it was just a lot happening at once. first that whole situation i told you about at the club, then jaemin kissed me, jeno apologized, now this? it was kinda hard to focus at the interview after all that." haechan just stared at the ground, scrunching his face slight as he thought about what the older had just told him.

"well what exactly happened?" even though it hurt, renjun was able to at least voice out a few words to tell the younger about what jeno had shown him last night. "something's not right," haechan shook his head, "why would doyoung film that? you two aren't close at all. not even friends." renjun nodded slowly in agreement.

"right, but what's so suspicious about that?"

"what exactly is doyoung getting out of that? it's clearly not a friendship with you or anything. i always see those two together anyways." haechan said referring to doyoung and yuta.

"who knows? jeno could be apart of this too. this could all just be another set up and i think that's what jungwoo is hiding." 

—

the two had split their ways after they had been talking instead of working on their drafts. haechan was on his way to check out while renjun had to stay and work a little later. while he was walking he noticed mark heading his way. 

"fuck..." he muttered, turning around quickly. he began walking in the same direction, his back facing the older. he had hoped that he wasn't recognized since he didn't want to face mark after the events from last night at the club. and if he did recognize him, he hoped mark didn't remember a thing.

"haechan?" the tanned male slowly turned around and put on the best smile he could manage through gritted teeth. 

"oh hi, mark!"

"hey, i was wondering if you had come in today." mark smiled and the younger felt his heart skip a beat. he wiped his, now, sweaty palms on his slacks before answering.

"oh r-really?" he chuckled nervously, "did you need me for something?" mark slid his hands down to his pockets, attempting to slip them in but failed miserably. his hands awkwardly slipped right over the fabric as his face flushed red.

"umm, nothing in particular... i uh— have you seen sicheng?" 

the younger shook his head, "nope, sorry." mark nodded and the two were left in uncomfortable silence, looking everywhere but towards each other. "so...about last night" haechan started, he wanted to at least ease the somewhat sexual tension between them, "i wanted to apologize. i was drunk and i did some pretty weird things."

"no, no, it's okay." mark laughed. haechan knitted his eyebrows together.

"it is?"

"well yeah. i understand, we were both drunk so don't feel too bad about it. i mean...i don't regret anything." haechan felt his face heat up.

"cute..."

"i'm sorry?" mark shot his head up, his eyes wide. he didn't think the younger heard him.

"it's...it's nothing! i should probably go now...i'll see you tomorrow?" haechan nodded, giggling at how cute the older was.

"sure, sure." he gave mark a bright grin before leaving the older alone in the hallway, cursing at himself for being so awkward.


	35. Chapter 35

ten was furious. he had just come back from talking to renjun and haechan in their usual spot, the copy room. he already had to worry about jungwoo, but now jaemin? he was going to put an end to this whether renjun liked it or not. jaemin is just playing with his feelings now, and ten wasn't going to let his friend be manipulated.

he stomped through the halls gaining some glances from those around him, but they didn't dare stop him. his cold aura was something no one was willing to cross. as ten made his way up the stairs to the editor's hallway, he was stopped abruptly. 

"where are you going?"

"seriously, johnny? you're always in my way!" ten moved aside, trying to pass johnny, but the older blocked him. 

"who made you angry this time? you can't just fight people when they make you upset." 

"oh really? watch me." ten slipped past johnny in swift motion and marched down the hallway to jaemin's office. and right on queue, jaemin was on his way out of his office anyways.

"ten, stop!" johnny chased after the younger, he began to panic even more when he saw jaemin exit his office with jungwoo right beside him, "jaemin! watch out!" both jaemin and jungwoo looked up at their boss with a puzzled expression. that was until they looked down and met with ten who was fuming. everything after that was a blur. 

—

it was the end of renjun and haechan's shift, they had just checked out and decided to go hangout. as they made their way out of the department, someone had ran over to them and tapped haechan's shoulder. "m-mark? what are you—"

"please, it's important. jaemin is at the hospital right now after what happened earlier. haven't you two heard?" renjun and haechan were confused and surprised. "ten knocked him out completely. he's in the hospital unconscious." 

"holy shit..." that's all they needed to hear, they put everything behind them and rushed to the hospital. mark had driven the two there since he was on his way himself. when they arrived, they met with half of their coworkers sitting in the waiting room.

"i assume you three are here for na jaemin?" the lady at the front desk asked. the three nodded before sitting next to johnny who looked more bothered than anyone else in the room.

"you alright, sir?"

johnny sighed before answering renjun, "i will be." renjun nodded slowly before he looked beside johnny and saw ten sitting there. his face was buried in his hands while johnny had his arm wrapped around his waist.

"okay, visitors for na jaemin?" another nurse had emerged from one of the hallways, a clipboard in hand. her eyes doubled in size when she saw everyone in the waiting room stand to their feet. "i'm sorry, but we can't have too many people back their at once. is anyone here family? or really close with him?" everyone sat back down and looked to renjun.

"i think it'd be best for you to go..." johnny whispered, his eyes glued to the floor. renjun gulped before standing, his legs felt like jelly.

"alright, sir. please follow me." renjun obeyed and followed the nurse through the hallways until they stopped at one of the doors. "he's just waking up, please be considerate." and with that, she left the two alone. renjun sat on the stool beside the bed and stared at jaemin. they weren't on the best terms, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't worried. he was terrified. gently, the older slipped his small hand into jaemin's larger one, and watched as he stirred in his sleep. 

"it's okay, nana. i'm here." renjun spoke softly, tracing his thumb over jaemin's knuckles. the younger was startled awake by the loud beeping noise of his heart rate, but he soon relaxed when he heard renjun's familiar voice.

"renjun-ah..." jaemin said with his raspy voice, he even managed to smile through the pain he was feeling. "i'm happy to see you here...right when i wake up..."

"stop talking, you'll hurt yourself even more." jaemin closed his eyes and nodded. his body tensed up as he felt a sharp pain in his jaw. "just breathe, you'll get through it. it's just your jaw and your eye." renjun squeezed his hand.

"m-my...eye?" jaemin reached his free hand up to the foreign material that covered his left eye.

"don't! let it heal, just relax." the two sat in silence. renjun stayed and made sure jaemin was comfortable and relaxed while the younger was staring at all parts of the room. "you know the whole department is out there waiting for you?" jaemin turned his head towards the older.

"mhm...but they told me to come in here first." jaemin didn't reply due to some more pain in his jaw, but he squeezed renjun's hand to let him know he heard him.

"jaemin, it's time for your medicine." the nurse smiled as she came in with a needle. as she injected it in his arm, he shifted uncontrollably and his grip on renjun's hand tightened.

"you're doing great." renjun comforted.

"all done! now if you don't know already, you have a fractured jaw and a black eye. it will hurt to move your jaw so please avoid doing that as much as you can, and keep the eyepatch on. you're vision might be a little off on that eye and it's bruised." the woman explained and jaemin groaned. "you'll be alright in no time, jaemin! you're very lucky to have him right by your side." the woman grinned before leaving.

"...m'pretty lucky, hm?" renjun pinched his arm causing jaemin to flinch.

"stop talking, you fool." renjun rolled his eyes. slowly jaemin fell asleep to renjun's soft humming, and renjun stayed beside him until visiting hours were over. when he returned to the waiting room, everyone was gone except for ten, mark, and haechan who were sleeping. "guys? why did you wait for me?"

the two jumped awake, "sorry, we didn't want to just leave you here." haechan yawned. 

"i'll take you guys home." mark led the three out to his car. everyone was talking and asking about how it went, all except for ten.

"what exactly happened, ten?" renjun asked.

"i was mad at him for what he did to you...and so i went to his office and hit him right in the middle of the hallway..." he sniffled. "right in front of jungwoo and johnny...i just blacked out, i was too angry to realize what i was doing."

"did they try to stop you?"

"of course they did. johnny tried to stop me before i even go to 'em...both him and jungwoo were pulling me off of him after i first hit his eye....i'm s-so sorry." ten sobbed into his hands. everyone was speechless, all they could do was comfort ten and hope for the best.


	36. Chapter 36

renjun spent each day visiting jaemin at the hospital. it's gone on for about a month and a half now. johnny let him leave the office early to do so. even though renjun appreciated it, he was worried about about him. johnny just seemed so off lately like he didn't care. almost like he was just giving up on everything.

while renjun sat beside jaemin in his usual spot waiting for him to wake up, the door opened and ten walked in. "ten? what are you doing here?" ten gulped as he stood by the younger, staring at jaemin with sympathy.

"i came here to apologize..." 

"alright, that's fine. how's johnny doing? he doesn't seem to well." judging by ten's expression, he wasn't doing too well either. "you don't have to talk about it now."

"no, no, it's fine. we're just worried...he could lose his position, and i could get some years in..." renjun opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. he couldn't help but think of the worst. that's probably what was going on in johnny's head too. in the back of their mines, they all knew ten hit first.

"i don't— ten..." renjun sighed, "have you heard anything from the authorities?" 

ten nodded, "so far i'm paying the medical bill, and if he wants to press charges he can. everything else? i haven't heard a thing. almost as if the answer is pretty obvious." renjun just shook his head in disbelief.

"don't worry, ten. we'll all get through this like we did with everything in our pasts. trust me, alright?"

"alright...i guess i'll apologize another time then. you two have a lot to catch up on and i'm pretty sure he wouldn't want to see his attacker right now..." and ten left after that. slamming the door behind him, he woke jaemin up.

"sorry, that was ten." jaemin gave the older a puzzled look. "he came to apologize but he left so we could talk. now that your jaw is slowly healing and you can actually respond now." renjun gulped. he didn't really want to talk to jaemin about what jeno told him a month ago. even though he should be the one stressed out and upset about the kiss, he didn't want to stress jaemin out either.

"talk? about what?" jaemin sat up in the bed.

"your jaw. it's not as bruised as before. how are you feeling?" renjun lightly traced his finger along the younger's jaw. jaemin took his hand and held it in his lap.

"i'm fine, renjun," he smiled softly, "that can't be what you wanna talk to me about. it has to have something to do with ten. why else would he hit me?" the older bit his lip nervously. "i mean, your friends hate my guts since what happened a while back. so what did i miss?"

renjun just had to suck it up then. when else would be able to get answers out of jaemin? it was driving him insane and he was desperate to know. "were you ever at the club...with yuta?" jaemin frowned. he just hated yuta, especially after he spread rumors about the older and starting touching him in the club.

"absolutely not. you know how i feel about that guy." jaemin hissed in pain, gripping his jaw. renjun gasped and instantly stood up to comfort him.

"i'm so sorry! are you alright?" jaemin nodded as he squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth. "i don't want to stress you out, nana. you're going through enough." jaemin shook his head.

"...continue..." his voice was almost muffled since he tried to keep his jaw still. 

"i'll just be straightforward with you. the night you...the night you kissed me, jeno came over and apologized to me. i won't get into detail but he showed me a video that doyoung had filmed and sent him."

"...hmm? video?"

"of you at the bar with yuta...snogging." jaemin knew it would hurt his jaw, but he had to laugh. snogging. renjun was just too cute.

"why are you laughing?" jaemin waved his hand, shaking his head again. 

"i don't understand. i went to the bar a couple days after the whole jeno thing, and i went home after that." 

"don't lie to me, jaemin. this is exhausting. you keep going around kissing people, how am i supposed to believe you didn't do this? when i literally watched the video." jaemin closed his eyes and adjusted his eyepatch. he didn't remember that happening at all, and he knew for a fact something wasn't right.

"doesn't that sound weird to you? doyoung filming it?" renjun averted his eyes, remembering haechan had said the same thing. "i don't remember kissing with him, flirting, or anything. i saw him sit beside me and if i remember correctly, he offered me a strong drink that would relax me after what happened between us. i don't remember anything after that." now renjun was able to see the suspiciousness too. 

"so the burning question is, what exactly happened after that?" jaemin nodded.

"you can't ask yuta or doyoung. they're just gonna lie to you. those two were spreading false rumors before you published your book..." jaemin stopped and shifted his jaw, "...about us sleeping together. they told johnny to consider that before letting you publish anything. so i stopped it from worsening." 

"how can i trust you?"

jaemin just shrugged, "that's up to you. i mean, when have i ever lied to you?" 

renjun knew jaemin was right. he felt the sincerity and he knew jaemin had never truly told him a single white lie. every issue they had in the past were all misunderstandings. so now he hoped this one was the same thing. though, it was still hard since there was no evidence. knocking renjun from his thoughts, jaemin kissed his knuckles. 

"take your time, i'm just as confused as you are. i know whatever you saw hurt you, so don't hold yourself back from feeling the way you feel. i don't want you to think that i did it willingly or even while i was in my right mind. i wish i could tell you, but i don't know either." jaemin's eyes locked with the older's.

"how can you still be so content? and...charming? after all that's happened?" renjun pout and jaemin chuckled. 

"because you're here with me. i can't say i'm the happiest man on earth since you aren't happy, but i'm content whenever i'm with you." jaemin smiled lovingly.

"i think...i think that's the cringiest thing you've ever said to me."


	37. Chapter 37

and just like the last mystery renjun had to solve with ten, he went around the office trying to investigate. he was going to get answers to this and figure out why people are sabotaging him so much. it just didn't make sense. this time renjun didn't have his partner in crime, ten, but he did have his best friend with him.

"we can't just ask random people when they're probably not involved, because then we're just bringing them into your business." haechan explained. 

"you're right, but how do we know who to ask?"

"it's simple. just ask jaemin's friends. they're closer to him and they could have been there too. whether they're involved or not, they're still his friends and not some strangers." renjun nodded in agreement. the two walked up to the publishers floor and questioned everyone.

"is this an interrogation room? why am i always involved?" 

"you didn't do anything wrong, lucas, i promise. you're just friends with everyone around here." renjun felt a little bad for dragging lucas into his every problem. all he's ever done was quietly work and care for jungwoo. "do you know if anyone else was there with him?" 

lucas shook his head, "mark might know. he had invited jaemin to the bar before hand, but he denied his offer. they could have went together the next day." haechan and renjun thanked lucas before moving on to mark's office.

"so lucas is telling the truth?" mark nodded.

"yeah, but i don't remember seeing jaemin kissing yuta."

"did you see yuta at all?"

"mhm...at the bar with jaemin. they weren't doing anything suspicious, but i walked over to say hi. yuta had said it was a good idea to come to the bar when he's stressed out, and he offered him a drink." 

"that's exactly what jaemin told you?" haechan turned to the older male who nodded.

"did you see what happened after that? jaemin said he doesn't remember anything." mark frowned and thought for a moment, he looked a little uneasy.

"i left them alone after that...but later on that night he was sleeping on the counter. i had to wake him up and we went home after that. i thought he was just tired, he didn't seem drunk at all." now all three males shared the same confused expression. 

haechan thanked mark for telling them that and the two younger males left the room. "you're quiet. what are you planning?" haechan nudged the smaller male's arm.

"we're getting closer. we know jaemin had to have passed out. he wouldn't just be sleeping at the bar. but was it the alcohol that knocked him out? or..." 

"i know what you're thinking, but we don't know that for sure. even if we did, how would we prove it?" renjun shut his eyes, inhaling sharply. he didn't know where to go from there. it was also too hard to concentrate when he's worried about both ten and jaemin. 

"i don't know yet. let's figure this out tomorrow, i'm tired." 

"you're not going home, are you?" donghyuck folded his arms, knowing exactly where the older was going. and he wasn't going to miss out on an opportunity to tease renjun.

"shut up, you know exactly where i'm going."

—

"mark...was there too?" 

"yeah. how are you feeling? are you hurt? your jaw seems to be doing worse today." renjun's eyes were full of concern as he examined the younger's face.

"m' fine." jaemin grinned, pinching the older's cheeks. renjun slapped his hand away before turning his attention to the nurse who had come in. and as usual, jaemin began shifting uncomfortably.

"don't worry, no needles today!" jaemin relaxed at that, causing the woman to chuckle. "renjun, could you give him two drops in his left eye? if he seems to be acting weird, it's just the side effects of the painkillers." the nurse handed renjun the small container. after a month of visiting, almost everyone in the hospital knew who he was now. after renjun took the bottle, the lady left the two alone. 

renjun leaned in to remove jaemin's eyepatch, but he moved his head away. "stop moving, don't you trust me? there's no reason for you not to." jaemin rolled his eyes, "i mean, when have i ever lied to you?" renjun giggled as jaemin groaned in annoyance. finally, the younger allowed renjun to squeeze the drops into his eye. renjun wiped up the liquid around his eye with a paper towel, and set the bottle down. 

"it looks a lot better." renjun smiled as he threw the old eyepatch away. he turned back around to face the younger, walking over to him with a new one. he put the material over his slightly bruised eye and secured it on his head. in the midst of the silence, he noticed jaemin staring at him. "what?" jaemin raised his head and took renjun's chin between his slender fingers, bringing him closer so he could place a chaste kiss on his lips.

renjun's face instantly turned red. the younger didn't know if he was angry, flustered, or both. "don't do things like that. you aren't my boyfriend. your lips are chapped anyways." renjun moved away and sat back on the stool. "i came here to see if you remembered anymore information after i told you what mark had said."

"he gave me the drink, and i went to the bathroom...don't remember after that. i just went home with mark i guess." 

"was anyone else there?" jaemin looked away, staring outside the window. slowly he shrugged, a sigh omitting from his dry lips. renjun did the same, though he kept his eyes down at their hands that were intertwined. 

"i wanna runaway with you." jaemin turned his head to look at the older, as he laid back down on the bed. "i'm tired of all of this. i should just quit my job."

"runaway? quit? jaemin, what are you talking about?" renjun just assumed jaemin's nonsense was just those side effects the nurse was talking about. 

"renjun, i love you so much. i really do. i just hope you see that. every...every time i try to show you that...someone messes it up," jaemin's heart rate increased, the beeping sound of the machine getting louder. he gulped as his chest heaved up and down. before renjun could question it, he continued, "don't you trust me? what more can i do? i can barely ta—talk now..." tears welled in renjun's eyes as guilt consumed him. 

"i'm so sorry..." jaemin turned his head so he was staring at the ceiling. more pain shot through his jaw after talking so much, sweat painting his forehead. renjun buried his face in his arms that rested on the younger's abdomen and cried. jaemin brought his weak arm up and rested it on the older's fluffy hair.

renjun felt terrible. even though he wanted answers, at this point it didn't matter to him. nothing mattered to him. only jaemin. he never stopped loving him but he didn't want to be played with. he knew his worth and he knew he how he deserved to be treated. he was so quick to end things and didn't think about jaemin at all. even after he found out it was all a misunderstanding. he regretted everything and there was nothing he could do about it.


	38. Chapter 38

so renjun put everything behind him. he continued to visit jaemin at the hospital until he was finally released. he couldn't go back to work for a while, but he was able to stay at home. now, renjun would go to his house just to make sure he was alright. while he was preparing for his upcoming radio interviews about his book, haechan walked in.

"you look happy."

"do i?" haechan hummed, "i guess i'm just relieved that jaemin is doing well." 

"what about what jeno said? did you ever figure that out?" renjun shook his head. 

"i put it behind me. i know it's still like...a huge elephant in the room but it's getting in the way of everything else. plus it's stressing both of us out. i just need to trust him..." renjun murmured the last part under his breathe though haechan caught it. he nodded in agreement and sat at his at own desk. "have you heard from ten?" the younger shook his head sadly.

"haven't even seen him. he hasn't come in to work in a while." he said.

"and johnny?"

"nope...everyone is tense and wondering what's going on. if you go out into the hallway, you can feel the tension." renjun had a small idea of what was going on, and that was only because of what ten said a while back, and it just made sense of what would happen next. "that jaehyun dude is filling in." 

"yes, he is." renjun and haechan looked to the door and saw taeyong come through the doorway.

"have you heard from ten or johnny?" taeyong paused at the mention of their names before shaking his head.

"not exactly. jaehyun just told me the obvious and said that it would only make sense for ten to face some charges, if jaemin wants to press charges, and some years in jail. it's obvious but no one wants to believe it."  
—

renjun went to jaemin's house as soon as his shift ended. he gave jaemin his medication and eye drops like usual, and the two just did their own things. renjun was in the kitchen making lunch for them, while jaemin was editing drafts.

"are you able to eat ramen?" renjun asked, looking to the living room to see jaemin nod in response. soon after, the older came into the living room with two bowls of ramen. 

"thank you for taking care of me." 

"save those jaw movements for when you're eating." renjun warned as he took a bite of his food. jaemin being the hard headed guy he was, didn't listen.

"how was work?"

"it was boring as usual. ten and johnny didn't come in today, everyone is so worried. do you know what happened?" jaemin looked away, munching on his food. "oh, so now you wanna be quiet?" 

"it's not that, injunnie. there was a court hearing this morning. ten, johnny, and i had to attend. i told them i wasn't pressing charges and that him paying the medical bill was enough, but so far he could be in there for two years." renjun nearly choked. two years in jail? "johnny...we both begged the judge not to let him in there for that long but he just said he would think about it."

"what's the judge's name?"

"judge moon, moon taeil." jaemin finished and renjun nodded. "have you figured out what happened at the bar with yuta? i'm genuinely curious about how doyoung got that footage of me." 

"no, i wanted to put it behind me but i guess i was being selfish again. you deserve to know what happened. don't worry, i'll figure it out." jaemin ran his fingers up the older's neck, combing through his hair.

"don't stress yourself out, if you really wanna figure it out. i don't really care anyways." renjun glanced at the younger in the corner of his eye to see him staring at him adoringly.

"stop being so cheesy. i'm only here with you to make sure you don't hurt yourself."

"oh, come on. don't try to act like a tsundere." jaemin leaned in and carefully laid his head on the older's shoulders. "you smell nice." he complemented. renjun tried to push him off but jaemin was way stronger than him. soon renjun gave in and slumped back against the couch, jaemin still on his shoulder.

—

renjun's eyelids slowly peeled open, trying to adjust their focus in the unfamiliar room. he suddenly noticed he wasn't alone. he looked beside him and saw jaemin sleeping soundly on his shoulder. his arms tangled with his. though everything seemed normal, there was loud knocking at the door.

the male wasn't really in his right mind so he ignored it at first, that didn't last long when the knocking got louder and more aggressive. jaemin hummed softly as he started to wake up now, too.

"shh, stay here." renjun carefully got up from the couch, making sure not to hurt jaemin. when he opened the door, the person who was there surprised him. "absolutely no—"

"wait! i just came to check on jaemin!" jungwoo said, holding the door open before renjun shut it.

"go ahead. make it quick."

"i just wasn't expecting you to be here..."

. . . 

"okay, okay! geez, can i just come in?" jungwoo shouted, trying to keep the door open once more. suddenly jungwoo smiled and looked past renjun, the latter turned around and met with jaemin's chest.

"hi, jungwoo. thank you for stopping by." he smiled, letting the oldest inside. the two male's had been sitting on the couch talking about some nonsense renjun didn't care about. he just sat on a separate chair and watched the two talk.

"do you mind if i use the bathroom before i leave?"

"not at all! it's upstairs." jungwoo then left the two alone in silence. when the younger looked across the room, he was immediately met with renjun's stern glare. "what?" renjun rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "i'm just being nice..."

"nice? with jungwoo?" renjun scoffed, "nice my ass."jaemin tried to conceal his growing smirk which didn't last too long when he hissed from the pain in his jaw.

"you aren't like...jealous...are you?"


	39. Chapter 39

"you aren't like...jealous...are you?"

after a long pause the two male's broke into a fit of laughter. jaemin genuinely thought the situation was hilarious though he couldn't laugh too hard, and renjun didn't actually find it funny at all. "jealous? i have no reason to be jealous, nana. you bring jungwoo into your house as if he's done nothing wrong here."

"but he really hasn't done anything wrong." jaemin frowned.

"oh really? how would you know that? do you know something that i don't? you're forgetting how he was suspiciously hired by kun and not even jaehyun knew why. not to mention he's friends with jeno?" 

"renjun, what are you talking about? it's not like that at all." jaemin was confused. he moved closer to renjun but the older male got up and started collecting his things. "why are you so angry? it's not even your business."

"how many times do i have to tell you, jaemin? this isn't only about me but it could affect you too. open your fucking eyes, don't you remember what jeno did? jungwoo is probably here to get some more shit on us and i don't want to lose you again!" 

jaemin's currently visible eye widened. he scanned renjun who was flushed red, his eyes glossy, and his small hands were bawled into fists. while the two argued, jungwoo was just at the top of the stairs listening to everything. he would be lying if he didn't say he was hurt after what renjun was saying about him. finally he built up the courage to march down the stairs and push past the two to leave.

"jungwoo, please don't—"

"it's fine, jaemin. i knew i wasn't wanted here in the first place. not here, not at the department, not anywhere." jaemin sighed, feeling terrible. he opened his mouth to reply but renjun beat him to it.

"don't act like the victim. you and i both know exactly what you're planning, jungwoo."

"planning what? all you and ten have been doing was question me and the only friends i have left!" renjun rolled his eyes. he knew this game all too well and he wasn't going to lose this time. he wasn't going to let jungwoo try to make him feel guilty. "and...and if you really wanna know why i was hired, it's because i'm in debt. my medical bill is way too expensive and i have no money to pay for it now. all along my family would pay for it but now they're all dead because of what runs in my family. but you wouldn't know that, would you renjun? no, because you're selfish and you only think about yourself." jungwoo cried before slamming the door. 

—

"haechan? what's wrong?"

the tanned male had ran into mark's office like a maniac. he looked terrified and worried. "mark, please..." he panted. mark's confused expression had turned into a worried one as he tried to relax the younger.

"donghyuck, breathe," he held the latter's hand, waiting patiently for him to calm down before explaining. "now talk to me, what's the matter? why are you so worked up?" 

"it's renjun, again. i should've never left his side like i did i feel so guilty now," haechan covered his face with his free hand, "we haven't seen him in a couple of days, almost weeks now. he wouldn't answer his texts or calls...and johnny...he's just as terrible right now..." 

"shh, i know. it's just because of what ten's facing right now but they'll get through it. now did something happen to renjun that made him isolate himself?" haechan shrugged.

"last time i saw him, he was going to jaemin's house." mark thought for a moment until he remembered what lucas had said about jungwoo going to visit jaemin as well. 

"when was this?"

"last thursday." mark bit his lower lip nervously, and haechan took notice to that. his nerves were getting bad all over again at that. he knew something bad has to have occurred and mark definitely knew what it was.

"what? what do you know, mark?"

-thursday night-

"lucas, what's up?" mark grinned as he walked into his home. 

"i wanted to talk to you...about jungwoo..." mark joined the giant on the couch and nodded in reply. "he's not doing well at all. you know he goes to see jaemin once in a while, but earlier he met renjun there too. things didn't really go too well..."

"what do you mean?" mark just assumed a fight broke out between jaemin and renjun again, but he didn't understand why that effected jungwoo at all.

"jaemin and renjun got into an argument about how renjun didn't want jungwoo around because he's friends with jeno." mark's mouth hung agape as he nodded slowly, "he said some hurtful things, but he mentioned how jungwoo was plotting something with jeno. he thought that was the reason why he was hired but it's not." 

"i heard everyone was confused that day, but why was renjun so mad?"

lucas shook his head sadly and shrugged, "jungwoo ended up telling him that he was in debt, like i told you before, but he's just really in a bad place now that renjun had yelled at him and accused him of planning some stupid shit." lucas rested his head in his hand, keeping his eyes down at the floor. 

mark felt bad for both jungwoo and lucas, but he understood why renjun did what he did as well. he could tell just by looking at the younger that he was furious, and when he looked into his eyes he saw nothing but sadness. 

"you really love him..." mark mumbled.

"i just don't know what to do, as soon as i saw jungwoo come home crying i was ready to murder whoever made him upset. but now that i heard exactly what happened and i know it was renjun, it's harder now."

-present day-

"is jungwoo doing alright now?" haechan asked.

"i don't know, i would like to think so. so much has happened in one year at this department i don't even know how to feel about it anymore. who knows what's gonna happen next?"


	40. Chapter 40

jungwoo had come home from work completely upset. his bright orange hair was disheveled, sicking up in different directions from gripping the colored strands in the car. lucas immediately stood from the couch when he saw his boyfriend walk in, his face full of concern when he saw the look on the older's face. 

lucas knew that face all too well. jungwoo had to have had a pretty bad day if he was already so visibly worked up. especially being the sensitive person he was. his eyes were glossy, his face a light shade of pink as he miserably made his way to the taller male. lucas engulfed the older into a hug, jungwoo instantly crying into his chest. 

"you're okay, darling. just breathe." lucas traced patterns on the older's back as he hugged him. after jungwoo steadied his breathing, he lifted his head to look at the younger. "what happened?" lucas wiped jungwoo's tears with his thumb.

"work happened. i don't know if i can keep up this facade any longer." jungwoo sniffled, his breath getting uneasy again. lucas hated seeing his boyfriend so upset. i mean he was sobbing really hard after one day at work? it must have been terrible and lucas, like always, was ready to murder whoever did it. but instead, lucas took a deep breath and smiled. he didn't want to worry jungwoo and make the situation worse.

"what facade? talk to me." lucas led him to their bedroom and cuddled up on the bed. 

"you know ten and i have been at each other's necks for years and people around the office see that, but," jungwoo swallowed, "everyone just thinks i'm some mean monster now. one that doesn't have any feelings. i was only being so aggressive just to defend myself as best as i could so they didn't walk all over me like before...i'm just tired of being strong all the time." 

"no one is perfect, jungwoo. it's okay to cry like this. you know you're only defending yourself and you aren't a mean monster, and i know you're the sweetest person i've ever met," lucas said, "so what they think doesn't matter." jungwoo nodded as lucas took his hand, grazing his thumb over the older's knuckles.

"i know, you're right. but that didn't stop him and renjun from bothering me about why i was hired. or people treating me like shit because ten would spread rumors about me....i really didn't want to tell them it's because i'm in debt but they wouldn't stop bothering me!" jungwoo felt himself get worked up all over again. lucas noticed it too and leaned in to connect their lips. it took the older by surprise but he soon returned it.

it was slow and passionate, enough to make jungwoo forget all about his worries in that moment. slowly, lucas wrapped his muscular arms around jungwoo's waist that curved in perfectly. he pulled the older closer to deepen the kiss, jungwoo doing the same as he cupped the younger's face. lucas was just going to leave like that and pull away, but jungwoo had other plans.

taking lucas by surprise, jungwoo slipped his tongue in. it wasn't like jungwoo to do that unless lucas initiated it, not that he was complaining. but what shocked him even more was when jungwoo bit down on his lip. 

"woah, what's gotten into you, pup?" lucas pulled away, grinning widely. jungwoo just smirked mischievously. he eyed lucas' lips before he cut his eyes up to meet his.

"i just missed you." jungwoo stared at lucas with nothing but love and admiration. everything he was talking about before was no longer on his mind. his main focus now being the man before him.

"don't look at me like that, i know that look." lucas laughed covering his face with his large hand. 

"what look? i can't stare at my boyfriend?" jungwoo giggled while climbing on top of the younger, straddling him. lucas was little taken aback, as usual, but he gripped his hands on the younger's waist so he wouldn't move. he didn't trust him, especially since he was already being very daring. "i wanna spend more time with you, yukhei." 

lucas cocked his brow, "we spend time with each other all the time."

"yeah, but i wanna do something different. something that'll bring us even closer just like when we first met." jungwoo fantasied, a teasing lilt to his voice. 

"whatever you want." lucas mumbled, feeling himself fall into a trance as he stared at his boyfriend in awe. admiring his beauty and all his perfect features. jungwoo's smirk only widened at that as he closed the gap between them to kiss lucas once again. 

lucas' hands trailed up the younger's waist, hiking up his shirt as he did so. the older flinched at his cold hands touching his warm skin but it only made him more excited. without wasting any time, jungwoo lift his shirt over his head before tossing it across the room. when he turned back to lucas, he watched as his eyes darkened, staring at every inch of his upper body.

"now it's your turn." jungwoo said as he helped lucas lift his shirt off. 

"are you sure you want this?" lucas tried to conceal his growing smirk after jungwoo nodded surely, "how far are you willing to go?" he flipped their positions so that jungwoo was below as he hovered over his body.

"all the way."

—

sleep didn't visit renjun that night. it hadn't payed him a visit in what felt like ages. he stayed in bed, staring out of his window. it was almost like he was glued to his bedroom. he had vowed not to leave his apartment no matter the consequences that came with it. jungwoo was right, he is selfish. and he didn't want to inflict that on anyone else ever again. it hurt renjun to see people hurting because he of him. he felt guilty and like he was a burden.

it made him wonder if he had ever been a burden to jaemin. he had been so caught up with his own emotions as always, he didn't think about jaemin. typical. he tried to tune out those thoughts, as he began to remember the night jaemin kissed him. that night he went to sleep, he was devastated. jeno had showed him that footage right after he had shared his first kiss with jaemin and it hurt like hell.

but in this very moment, renjun couldn't bare the guilt of knowing he had hurt jungwoo and many others because of his selfishness. with that being said, he decided to use the memory of his kiss with jaemin as his solace. and renjun knew that doing that was selfish too. what could he do? he's tried so hard to stop loving jaemin but it wouldn't happen at all. no matter how hard he tried they were always brought back together. like magnets.

the soft knocking at the door startled renjun out of his thoughts for the first time. he looked around the room, lost, as if he was in an unfamiliar setting. it felt like he had just come out of a coma he had been in for years. he looked down at his feet like he had forgotten how to use them. he knew then that he had no ounce of strength in his body to get up, nor the mental strength to tell himself it was possible to.

"renjun? i know you're in there." 

the person knocked again. renjun instantly recognized the voice and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. finally he had stood on the cold tile and slowly made it to the front door. when he opened it, he was met with three male's and one unfamiliar face. before any words were exchanged, haechan engulfed the smaller male into a tight hug.

"i missed you...so damn much..." renjun heard the sadness in his best friends voice and that hurt him too. and again he blamed his selfishness for haechan's sadness. if he hadn't have isolated himself like he did, he would have spared his best friend the tears. renjun didn't hug him back at first due to his current lack of emotions, but after coming to that realization, he hugged back. he wanted to apologize to haechan and tell him everything was okay, but he couldn't.

haechan pulled away and stared down at the older with sad eyes though he smiled. "mark and i came here to check up on you, i didn't think you'd answer the door." neither did i. renjun thought. "you're probably wondering who this is." the tanned male stepped aside revealing a guy who was a little taller than them. fair skin, wide eyes, and brown bangs that covered just above his eyes.

"hello, renjun. i'm hendery, i work down the street as a bartender." he smiled, extending his hand. renjun nodded, shaking his hand.

"that's right, he works at that same bar we go to," haechan smiled at hendery who returned it, "he's here because he can help us figure out what happened with jaemin and yuta." 

renjun was thinking about so much and that was last thing on his mind. he didn't know whether he was excited about it or nervous. but he made a promise to jaemin that he would find out, for him. and it was relieving to know for a fact he was doing something for him for once and not something that was solely based off of himself. he didn't care anymore, and he wasn't doing it for his own sake, he was doing it for jaemin and for the first time in a while, he came to a conclusion that sat right with him.

"is he alright?" mark asked sadly, renjun looked so brain dead as he stared into space. he looked so dazed and sad, almost unrecognizable. haechan but his lip so he didn't cry at just the sight of renjun's current condition alone. it hurt to see him like this and he felt as if it was all his fault.

he wished he could've answered mark's question, but he didn't know either. "let's sit down, yeah?"


	41. Chapter 41

"unfortunately i didn't see him do anything exactly. not even kiss him. he just ordered jaemin a drink. i can definitely check the security cameras, it would surely give you the answer to all of this." hendery assured.

"thank you, hendery. i really appreciate you, and you guys." renjun smiled though it didn't reach his eyes. he had to admit he was a little relieved he didn't exactly find out too much about the situation because he was nervous. i mean what did yuta do and why? there was so much more information on the situation, renjun didn't even wanna think about it. he snapped out of yet another trance when he felt a hand on his slender shoulders.

"where did everyone go?"

"they just left, renjun," haechan locked eyes with the older, "you're clearly hurting so i'm not going to sit here and act as if i don't know that. but as your best friend, i want to know what's happening up there." he tapped renjun's temple.

"there's nothing really on my mind. i just feel guilty i guess." renjun said emotionlessly, "jungwoo called me selfish which was no surprise to me. i thought so too, before any of that happened. it just really opened my eyes. i'm such an asshole for saying what i did without thinking, all because i was worried about myself again."

"that's understandable, ren. you can't beat yourself up because it's obviously making things worse and you aren't getting anywhere. you were hurt and you're afraid of being manipulated again. not to mention the...really weird relationship? you have with jaemin is a priority to you, so that completely consumed your mind and you did say some hurtful things." renjun was so thankful for haechan. he was so realistic and understanding about everything.

"i guess you're right," said renjun, "i just want to apologize to jungwoo but i just can't imagine him forgiving me so easily. i wouldn't forgive me either! but right now i want to apologize to you. you were so worried about me and i isolated myself from you without thinking about your feelings."

haechan engulfed renjun into yet another hug, "i love you so much, ren. don't ever forget that fact. i'm not mad at you and you don't need to apologize. always put yourself first, but i just think you were blindsided to other people's feelings just because yours aren't quite sorted." 

"how do i fix that? i don't want to hurt anyone anymore." 

"is there something or someone stressing you out? or just something that's the source of making your feelings so wack and— oh..." haechan then realized how much renjun really loved jaemin. just by renjun's reaction. 

"damn, you've got it bad for him." renjun slapped the tanned male's arm. "hey! you hit me! that's a good sign!" haechan cheered. the older couldn't help but giggle.

"i'm so glad i have you by my side, i wouldn't trade our friendship for anything." renjun smiled and this time, his eyes did to. haechan watched as color slowly made its way to renjun's eyes that now sparkled more than they ever did before. he too, was happy. his best friend meant the world to him. haechan returned the smile, leaning in, catching renjun by surprise.

the younger had quickly pecked his lips causing renjun to gasp, covering his mouth, "why...why would you do that?" haechan laughed.

"i dunno, i heard everyone has kissed their best friend before so i wanted to try it. plus i was really in the moment." renjun laughed too, he couldn't help himself.

later that day, haechan had went to pay jaemin a quick visit. jaemin was completely shocked and thought he was going to be scolded by the older. he would rather haechan scold him for doing something he didn't like than to hear some sad news about renjun.

"did you ever hear from him?"

"just talked to him earlier. i need you to spend a lot more time with him. he really needs it." haechan said. 

"no need to tell me twice, but why all of a sudden? you're usually the one who does that as his best friend and i could never take your place like that." jaemin adjusted the patch over his eye.

"oh and you're right about that. nobody will be replacing me but that's not what i came here to tell you," the older have a sarcastic grin, "you need to keep him out of his head because it's getting really bad. he's loosing himself to his thoughts and you're all he ever thinks about. i can only do so much and keep him distracted for so long." 

"don't you think i would make matters worse? i mean think about it, before i met him everything in his life was going fine." 

"his life became even better when you came. not to mention he's literally famous now. it isn't your fault jeno kissed you and upset him, it isn't your fault yuta kissed you, and it's not you're fault he feels bad for yelling at jungwoo. and in the midst of all of it, he still loves you and you're all he needs right now." that's all jaemin needed to hear to go check up on renjun himself. he wasn't going to fight it any longer because he loved the older too much.

"j-jaemin?" 

renjun's eyes widened as he opened the door. jaemin didn't reply as he just stared solemnly at the older. just like haechan had described, renjun looked like a completely different person. his eyes drooped down, dark circles under eyes sad eyes that were almost drained of it's original color. his state was disheartening and that's when it dawned on the younger that he really wasn't okay at all.

the two just stared at each other with uncertainty. it wasn't awkward, at least not for them. that thought hadn't even crossed their minds. they both had so many issues with themselves and within their weird relationship that they had, but all they knew was that they were relieved of all their stresses in that very moment. just by being in each other's presence.

"let me take care of you. just like you did for me." jaemin held out his hand and renjun took it. he was confused as to what jaemin was planning, but he wanted to trust him. the younger had ran renjun a bath just like he had did for him months ago at his own house for the boy. renjun remembered it perfectly. once he was all cleaned up, jaemin made the two tteokbokki since it was pretty late and neither of them had eaten. 

"thank you for spending time with me, nana." jaemin smiled widely, the way the nickname rolled off of renjun's tongue never failed to make him feel happy.

"no problem. you know, i remembered how much you loved tteokbokki so that's why i made it for you." now it was renjun's turn to smile. he didn't quit remember telling jaemin that, but the fact that he remembered made him feel...loved?

too flustered and caught up in emotions to reply, renjun changed the subject, "have you heard from judge moon?" he asked. 

"mhm, he agreed to cut down ten's time in there despite us not wanting him to go at all. it wasn't something we planned on telling anyone but he went from two years to only one. it's been a week now." jaemin said bitterly. renjun looked down sadly. he felt himself lose his appetite at the sudden news. he wondered how johnny was dealing with this, but most of all he wondering how ten was dealing with it.

"oh...you know, i heard some news today too," the older said, "haechan and mark came over with this bartender named hendery. he said he was working that night when the whole situation happened and he was going to check the security cameras to see what really happened." 

"oh renjun, i don't need to know that."

"and why not? i made a promise with you that i would figure it out for your sake. you have a right to know!" 

"i appreciate it, but don't feel pressured if you don't figure it out. we can still solve this mystery for the sake of our curiosity, but don't stress yourself out." jaemin stood to put their plates in the sink. "there should only be one thing on your bucket list." 

"jungwoo?"

"you know what you have to do. it's the right thing to do, and it will make the both of you feel better. do you trust my words?" renjun didn't know if he really trusted jaemin, but he just agreed. like jaemin said, he knew what he had to do. so he was going to settle things with jungwoo.


	42. Chapter 42

renjun did exactly what jaemin had told him and went to jungwoo's house the next day. for some reason, renjun found himself nervous. he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he rehearsed what he was going to say in his head. he was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't realize he was in front of jungwoo's house. renjun sighed as he walked up to the door, his breath visible in the cold air before him.

"please don't answer, please don't answer..." renjun chanted after he knocked on the door. and to his misfortune, the door creaked open revealing lucas who looked down at him with a confused expression.

"renjun? what are you doing here?"

"i came here because i owe jungwoo an apology." lucas pursed his lips, moving aside to let the smaller boy into his home. "sorry for coming here unannounced." lucas waved him off, shaking his head.

"don't be, you're fine. i'll go get him for you, make yourself comfortable." renjun nodded as he sat down on their couch, waiting patiently.

lucas made his way down the hallway, knocking on their bedroom door, "renjun's here to see you, darling." lucas then opened the door, his eyes landing on the man before him.

"what for?" 

"he wants to apologize to you. he's in the living room waiting." jungwoo gave lucas an uncertain look but the younger assured him it was okay. jungwoo built up the courage to go face renjun in the living room and sat on the couch beside him. lucas on the other hand, stayed in their bedroom.

"i know this is sudden, but after what happened back at jaemin's house was terrible and you don't have to forgive me at all. i also want to apologize on ten's behalf, we both were trying to get into your business which was completely unacceptable. not only that, but i belittled your feelings and didn't realize it until you told the real reason why you were hired. you shouldn't have had to tell me something so personal just for me to understand that it wasn't my business and i'm deeply sorry for that. i hurt you and i am in the wrong, and i just wanted you to know that."

jungwoo smiled slightly, looking down at his lap, "it really did hurt and i'm glad you acknowledge that. i appreciate you coming here so late in the day to apologize to me as well. i'm not mad at you, renjun, all that anger came from what you've gone through and i understand that. trust me, jeno isn't planning anything and if he was i would stop him and make sure you knew about it. all is well." jungwoo's smile widened, looking up to meet renjun's eyes. the younger returned the gesture, hugging the older male.

renjun felt refreshed, like a giant weight was lifted from his shoulders as he walked back to his apartment. he was thankful jaemin helped him build up the courage to go and he was glad he was able to make it up to jungwoo. when he got to his room and unlocked the door, he froze in shock from what he saw in front of him. chenle, jisung, jeno, mark, jaemin, and haechan were in his living room.

"what the actual hell is going on here? haechan, what did i tell you about using that key i gave you for unnecessary reasons." jaemin chuckled softly to himself. renjun was adorable when he was angry.

"this reason is necessary. hendery gave the footage earlier and we didn't want to watch it without you." haechan stared at renjun with a sympathetic and loving expression. renjun swallowed. hard. nodding as he joined everyone on the couch to watch the footage. 

"why is everyone here so suddenly?"

"we want you to know that we're here for you every step of the way." chenle smiled.

—what really happened that night—

mark was finally able to drag jaemin out to the bar with him. the poor boy was so stressed out after what had happened between him and renjun all because of jeno's doings. the two sat at the bar, drinks in hand as they tried to talk as loud as they could over the blaring music throughout the room.

"i'll be back, jaemin. i'm using the bathroom." mark excused himself. jaemin was now left alone, he let out a exaggerated sigh as he chugged the last bit of alcohol in his glass.

"stressful week, huh?" jaemin looked up and met with the bartender whose name tag read 'hendery'. jaemin just nodded sadly, remembering the events that occurred days prior. 

"all you need is a strong drink," both hendery and jaemin turned their attention to the man approaching the bar, "trust me, i would know." the silver haired male sat beside jaemin.

"what would you like, sir?" hendery asked him.

"straight vodka." the others who sat along the bar nearly choked on their drinks when those words left the male's lips. hendery's mouth hung open, he couldn't find the right words to say.

"umm..okay, sir. i'll be right with you." 

"you don't seem like you come here often, jaemin. i'm surprised i saw you here." yuta observed as he turned to the younger. jaemin rolled his eyes.

"i'm not in the mood, yuta. why are you messing with me anyways? shouldn't you be somewhere following doyoung?" yuta frowned.

"ouch," he clutched his chest, "i can't check on an old friend?" jaemin just shook his head, watching as hendery came back with yuta's order.

"every time you come to me or renjun, you're try to pull some dumb stunt on us. i wasn't born yesterday." 

"i know, i know. obviously i'm...i'm not with doyoung right now, i just came here alone to help you cope with your sadness. i know how it feels to be heartbroken..." yuta mumbled, "but i bought this for you because it helps me deal with it." yuta slid the glass of vodka toward the younger, jaemin caught it quickly.

"you've experienced heartbreak before? i never hear anything about your love life in the department like everyone else." jaemin took a sip of the strong drink and began coughing soon after.

"well yeah, who hasn't? i just don't need people knowing my business..." 

"jaemin, i'm back!" mark announced as he approached the bar again, "yuta! i didn't see you here before. i don't want to interrupt your conversation." he said.

"no, mark. you're fine. where are you going?" jaemin turned his back toward yuta so he was facing mark as they spoke. the silver haired male bit his lip in anticipation. and like he expected, he felt a tap on his shoulder. he turned around and met with doyoung who wasn't sitting too far from them. 

"that's it?" he whispered, pointing to the glass of vodka. yuta didn't answer at first, he looked down at the ground. he felt sick and guilty at the same time. he wanted to run out of the club and leave everything behind but he knew doyoung wouldn't let him do that.

"hey," doyoung hit his arm, "remember what i told you before. now is that it or not?" yuta nodded and doyoung reached into his pocket and wrapped his arm around jaemin.

"hey, mark, jaemin..." he smiled, and in a swift motion, the hand that was wrapped around jaemin's shoulders dropped some substance into the glass. yuta was getting into his head, the music and their conversation was tuned out now. he wanted to grab jaemin and tell him to leave and get away from this maniac named doyoung, but he couldn't because if he could do that much, then he would have told jaemin how he felt. 

"what was that all about? i knew you were here with doyoung." jaemin turned back to yuta as mark and doyoung left to go somewhere else. though yuta knew exactly where doyoung was going, back on the other side of the bar to watch his actions closely.

"i-i didn't know he was here." jaemin raised his eyebrow, not believing anything that came out of yuta's mouth. he then wrapped his hand around the glass yet again and before he could bring it too his lips, yuta stopped him. "wait!" 

jaemin paused. yuta had surprised himself and when he realized what he did, he froze too. he glanced across the room and met with doyoung's piercing gaze that burned holes into his skull. "uhh..i wanted to talk to you before you got too drunk." yuta struggled to make up an excuse.

"what is it then?"

"about renjun...i heard what happened and i just wanted to give my good old friend some advice."

jaemin knew something was off, "what can you possibly have to tell me?" yuta didn't know either, he looked at doyoung and then back at jaemin before he answered. he knew by the time this horrid moment would pass, jaemin wouldn't remember a thing so he said, 

"when i come here whenever i'm stressed out and order that drink, i finish the whole thing before i decide to walk back home. love is complex and it can be one sided, vodka is just like a remedy for me. it helps me figure out what to do next and it distracts me from the pain..." yuta gulped, "like a drug..."

it felt like the world had stopped and jaemin and yuta were the only two people alive. everything in his view was still and silent as he watched jaemin down that poisonous glass of vodka. when the sound of the glass hit the wood on the table, yuta snapped back into reality. "i appreciate the advice, i guess. i would believe anything considering how fucked up my emotions are. you mentioned..." jaemin's eyebrows knitted together and he looked as if he was going to be sick.

"what? what is is?" yuta knew exactly what it was, but that fact wouldn't hit him yet. it felt like a nightmare that he couldn't escape from. jaemin had almost fell from his chair but yuta caught him quickly. jaemin leaned against the older's shoulder, his body weak for a reason that wasn't clear to him.

"m'sorry..." he struggled to lift himself up so yuta helped him. their faces were inches apart. "you mentioned before that you come here when you've experienced heartbreak. are you in love with someone...too?" jaemin panted, his breath fanned on yuta's lips.

those words hurt yuta even though he already knew jaemin's eyes were elsewhere. and like he had said before, jaemin wouldn't remember anything after this horrid day passed. he's already gotten this far so yuta didn't care anymore. he had nothing else to lose. "i am," he replied, his eyes looked down at jaemin's lips then back at his eyes, "but he doesn't know it. he has eyes for someone better, someone who is hated by many and loved by all. renjun gets everything he wants and he's very lucky to have you, jaemin."

jaemin shut his eyes tightly before opening them quickly, he was in a daze. yuta knew he was clearly losing it and he felt disgusting for being apart of this. he didn't want to see jaemin like this at all but he couldn't do anything about it now. "you can't..." he shook his head, "you can't be in love with me...that's crazy." yuta held back tears. he was angry, guilty, and overwhelmed at the same time.

"i know..." he leaned forward and captured jaemin's lips. doyoung had threatened him with so much just to get him to do this so he could film it. yuta agreed because he knew he would never get the chance to kiss jaemin ever again. he felt dirty and selfish but in that moment he didn't care. he cherished this moment and this one only. the way their lips moved in sync, he felt jaemin's body grow weaker and weaker until finally they pulled away and jaemin collapsed in yuta's arms. 

"i got it, i'm going home now i'll see you tomorrow." doyoung said as he came back to them. he left without another word said. yuta just sat their dumbfounded. jaemin's head laid lifelessly against his chest, yuta felt so alone he couldn't help but cry. he didn't care who saw or who heard. it was probably impossible with the loud music that continued to blare throughout the club. 

yuta just stayed like that for a while, holding jaemin up right, hugging him close to him as he cried. all the feelings that he tried to hide inside of him were finally coming out. "i love you so much...why can't you see that?" he sobbed. after pulling himself together as best as he could manage, he laid jaemin onto the table so he looked as if he was sleeping. he kissed him on his temple before he left the bar with strong feelings of regret in his broken heart.


	43. Chapter 43

—present day—

renjun turned away, burying his face in jaemin's chest. jaemin wrapped his arm around him, comforting him. renjun thought he didn't care about the kiss anymore, but it only reminded him of what happened before. everything still hurt. "h-how could they do that to you? i'm s-sorry i—"

"injunni, there's nothing to be sorry about. i'm still here, right? i'm fine! you didn't do anything wrong." jaemin whispered cheerfully. he still managed to be so bright in the hardest situations. 

haechan smiled softly seeing that jaemin was treating renjun so well, "what are we gonna do now?" no one knew the answer to that. the shock and tension was still in the room. 

jeno stood up suddenly, everyone's eyes instantly watched his every move. he leaned close toward the table before everyone, and took the hard drive out of the laptop. "what are you doing?" jisung questioned with curiosity in his eyes.

"i'm turning them in." 

"what? isn't that...i don't know, this is a lot right now. turning them in would just really make reality set in, and i don't think anyone's ready for that." mark said.

"please," jeno replied, "renjun, you don't have to trust me now or ever, but i will do everything in my power to give these assholes what they deserve." 

"jeno, i appreciate that and all, but i just want to hear their side of it." everyone looked at him as if he was from a different planet.

"are you insane? why do you need to hear their side of it, they're caught and there's nothing left to say!"

"you can hear their side of it when the judge says so at the court hearing." everyone yelled out complaints at renjun's idea but jaemin shut it down as soon as he saw renjun getting annoyed by it.

"alright, settle down. let's just hear what he's trying to say." renjun muttered a quick 'thank you' before he finally continued his thought.

"i understand that, everyone. i just want to hear why they did that, whether they lie about it or not. i know doyoung can't possibly have a valid reason at for this because we all know how he is, but yuta? if you actually spent time with him before, you would know this isn't like him at all." uneasy glances were exchanged amongst them. 

"i trust you, renjun." renjun looked down and met with jisung's sincere eyes. he looked up at him since he sat on the floor against the couch. 

"thank you, jisung." renjun simpered, pinching the younger's cheeks. jisung huffed, pulling his head away from renjun's grasp. 

"me too!"

"yeah, renjun. we trust you, we're also just looking out for you." haechan said after chenle. renjun looked around the room at everyone he loved with every ounce of his body. in that moment he had felt like the luckiest man alive, and he had finally found some peace.

—

there was still leftover tension in the office. renjun felt it especially since that night he watched the footage. every time he would see doyoung talking to some coworkers he would feel so disgusted. not only that, but he felt unsafe knowing that doyoung had no problem with doing something so vulgar.

"renjun?" the latter gasped as he turned around and smacked the anonymous hand away from him. "i'm sorry, i didn't mean to scare you." jungwoo flinched too, surprised by renjun's reaction. 

"oh, jungwoo..." renjun sighed in relief, "you...you scared me."

"well, i see that. you just looked terrified, are you alright?" jungwoo tilted his head, as he held renjun's shoulder. suddenly renjun's face dropped which confused jungwoo. he got choked up on his words as his skin got paler. jungwoo started to get nervous too, and he didn't even know why. he then turned around and met with doyoung which made him even more confused.

"yeah you seem sick, renjun. are you feeling okay?" doyoung asked. renjun was, in fact, very sick. he felt as if he was going to puke, he wanted to cry, but he also wanted doyoung to pay for what he did. not because he hurt renjun, but because he hurt his lover. and that's what made him angrier.

"i'm fine." renjun nearly growled. jungwoo was taken aback by renjun's sudden aggression and doyoung played dumb. he knew exactly why renjun was upset, he even tried to conceal a growing smirk on his lips.

"are you sure? i could get you some water." 

"i don't want anything from you. don't touch me, don't talk to me, don't even look in my direction. i want nothing to do with you. you know what you did, and you're disgusting." renjun's words were harsh and laced with venom, "i'm sorry, jungwoo. i'll see you later." renjun smiled to jungwoo and left, but that was after he gave doyoung a glare. 

renjun left to go to the copy room where he let a couple of tears fall. more continued to fall as he remembered that he used to meet here all the time with ten. "who did it? why are you crying?" renjum wiped his tears away quickly, not wanting anyone to see. 

"it's nothing, haechan...please.." he felt the presence of the younger beside him, "i'm not sad, donghyuck. these are angry tears. ten doesn't deserve to be in that hell-hole, doyoung does. i'll make sure of it." haechan hadn't seen renjun's feisty side in a while. not sense he met jaemin. he knew whenever renjun was angry, it got ugly.

"just don't do anything illegal. you'll be ten's cell mate if you do." 

"donghyuck, i'm tired of being sad all of the time. having everyone take advantage of me...i won't have it anymore. i'm going to fight for the people i love instead of letting them get hurt because of me." haechan smiled proudly, patting renjun's back.

"show them who you are, renjun. i raised you well." haechan faked a tear, "where are you gonna start?"

"with yuta. i'm gonna talk to him because that footage showed a side of yuta i never saw, and he showed some feelings i didn't know he had. i just know he's hurting despite being in the wrong and i know how that feels. he needs someone, donghyuck. i'm going to be that person that i needed when i was hurt for yuta." haechan watched as his best friend walked out of the copy room, "watch me."


	44. Chapter 44

renjun walked into yuta and doyoung's shared office with his head held high. the two were in the middle of a conversation but renjun wasn't going to wait. he was tired of waiting on people and it got him nowhere. so he cleared his throat, leaning on the door frame. 

"what are you doing here, renjun?" doyoung asked but he was ignored.

"yuta, i would like to speak with you." renjun smiled sarcastically. it was clear to renjun that yuta was shaking in his boots as he stood to his feet and followed him out. renjun brought them to his office that was empty because haechan knew this was part of his plan. "don't be scared, yuta. i'm not here to attack you." renjun sat down at his desk. his words were sincere but his expression said otherwise. yuta was shaking and sweating so much he couldn't even speak so he just nodded.

"i think you know why i called you in here. i heard and saw everything. not only did i see the clip doyoung filmed, but i saw security footage of the whole thing. from when jaemin walked into the bar to when he walked out." yuta's eyed widened. he was surprised renjun went that deep into the situation to get the security footage.

"i came here to talk to you and give you a chance to explain yourself," renjun wanted to keep yuta scared and wondering what he was gonna do next, "you're lucky. jeno was about to turn you both in yesterday, but i stopped him so i could talk to you first."

"you shouldn't have. i appreciate it, renjun. i really do, but i'm a bystander of a crime. i let doyoung do that when i could have stopped him. why did you stop jeno from giving me what i deserve?" 

"you didn't drug jaemin so i don't have as much anger for you compared to doyoung. in that footage i was surprised you let him do that to jaemin because i know you aren't the type to do something like that," renjun felt himself get nervous as he spoke, "but i also saw some feelings...that i didn't know that you had." yuta looked away. he couldn't face renjun after what he did.

"i—" yuta didn't know whether to say sorry or not. would it really mean anything now? renjun obviously saw that yuta had some hidden feelings for jaemin in that footage and yuta felt himself getting emotional at the thought of what happened that night.

"it's okay, don't apologize for being in love, yuta. there's nothing wrong with that. i just want to know why? why did you let doyoung do that to jaemin? not only was it wrong, but you obviously care for him too." 

yuta looked around before he leaned closer to renjun, "you can't tell him i'm telling you this, he'll kill me if he finds out i did." renjun was scared now. he took that fact literally because who knows what else doyoung is capable of? "he threatened me. my career. he was going to set me up and make me look like i got into the department because i was dating someone higher in rank. he already got dirt on me that isn't even true, he's just been waiting until i slip up to ruin me. i'd lose everything if i didn't do what he wanted." yuta's voice broke.

"so you obviously went through with it, continue."

"i still fought against it but it was too risky. he knew how i felt about jaemin so instead of just drugging him and making him look like a drunk, he told me to kiss him. he said it would hurt you even more and it could work out in my favor," yuta thought he was pathetic for crying so he quickly wiped his tears away, "i don't understand how someone could want to hurt you that terribly, i didn't care how much i loved jaemin it was just wrong. this is where i'm wrong, renjun. i was too lovestruck to think about it, so i did it anyways and i am so selfish for that." renjun watched sadly as yuta struggled to hold himself together.

"it's okay to cry, don't be afraid to show your emotions. not in front of me." renjun felt bad for yuta, he knows how it feels to love someone who doesn't love you back and he knows how it feels to just hate yourself for being so selfish. "why does doyoung hate me so much?" he thought aloud. 

"ever since he heard you and jaemin were hanging out, he got annoyed. when you published your book it stemmed from there. he's jealous of your success, renjun. he thinks you only published a book because you're close with an editor. he tried to spread rumors like that to johnny. i agreed with him only because i was jealous of your relationship. jaemin caught us that day so it never spread throughout the office." renjun knew that was true because he remembered jaemin had mentioned that back at the hospital. 

"thank you for being so honest with me, yuta. especially with all that you faced and the threats you're still facing, you're so strong for that and you aren't alone. i came here because i just knew you had to be hurting. i know how it feels, yuta. to feel like you're selfish, like you're alone, to love someone who doesn't love you back, and to feel so scared. i'm here for you." renjun walked over to yuta and brought him into his embrace. he let yuta cry on his shoulders and he just knew that this was all pent up and hidden for a while.

"after everything i did to you? you're too kind to me...i-i don't deserve this...i should be thanking you and apologizing and—" 

"yuta," renjun pulled away from the hug and stared up into yuta's sad and regretful eyes with a comforting smile, "everyone is worthy of love and everyone makes mistakes. you're only human so don't beat yourself up for these things."


	45. Chapter 45

renjun was proud of himself. it was that same familiar pride he had when he had published his book. seeing yuta smile because of him after their conversation was probably the highlight of his day, but he couldn't forget what he had told him before they parted ways.

"thank you, renjun. i will always remember this day, you're just too kind for this world. i really am sorry for everything." renjun shook his head.

"i know you are, but i don't need an apology. you didn't do anything to me."

"right...jaemin..." 

when the two left his office, renjun went straight upstairs to jaemin's office and told him a short summary of his conversation with yuta. he left some parts out for yuta's sake. he just wanted to let the younger know that yuta wants to speak with him and that their conversation went well.

"you're so sweet, renjun. i always loved that about you." renjun flushed red at the sudden complement. jaemin missed seeing renjun like that, all red and blushing because of him. 

"shut up, i'm going home now." renjun smacked the younger's arm before leaving. just after he left, yuta had entered.

"i assume renjun told you why i'm here?" jaemin nodded sitting back in his desk, "out of everyone here, i owe you the biggest apology. i might not have drugged you directly, but i let it happen when i could have stopped it. you lost your memory and i kept it hidden all this time because i was so ashamed, but you have every right to know what occurred. i'm sorry i hurt both you and renjun. you two have been through enough." jaemin hummed softly, after everything that yuta said he couldn't help but admire renjun for seeing the good in people. if renjun forgave him, then jaemin would too.

"that means a lot, yuta. it really does." jaemin smiled as he walked over to the older.

"i wish you both well. renjun obviously really loves you, so make sure you hold onto him." jaemin could see some sadness in yuta's eyes, the sound of defeat was in his voice yet he was being sincere. he felt sorry that yuta had to watch renjun and jaemin be together all the time when he felt this way. 

being the kind person he was, he gently took yuta's hand and kissed his knuckles. yuta almost melted at the gesture. jaemin then hugged yuta tightly. "forgive and forget. i'm sorry too." and yuta knew exactly what the younger was referring too. he didn't need to apologize, but he did anyway. leaving jaemin's office that day was another weight lifted off of yuta's chest. and after what jaemin did, yuta felt like he didn't ever want to wash that hand but he did. it was a first step into letting him go.

—

"how am i supposed to prove he's innocent? he was a bystander and there is no evidence proving otherwise."

"yuta told me doyoung had threatened him and got some dirt on him which is why yuta is always wrapped around his finger. none of what he has on yuta is true, so whatever he has on him we have to dig that up and tell the authorities that doyoung threatened yuta with it." renjun said. jeno nodded, thinking that was a good idea.

"great, but how are you going to get that evidence?"

renjun had to do it. no one else could because renjun knew the whole story best and he knew exactly what he came there to find. he was nervous since he was sneaking into doyoung's office and could get caught. yeah, their boss could catch him, but it was fine as long as it was someone other than doyoung himself. 

the small male went through his filing cabinet until he came across a folder with yuta's name on it. slowly, renjun slid that folder out from the drawer and began flipping through it. he was crouched down behind the desks so he couldn't be seen from the outside. 

nakamoto, yuta 

24

male

osaka, japan

october 25, 1995

renjun continued to read with curious eyes. he flipped to a different page and came across an experience certificate. 

nakamoto yuta is a hard working man, though he might not be fitting for this job. he quit his former career all because he wanted to be payed more. it was rumored that he was stealing money from us and—

bingo. renjun had found exactly what he was looking for. he stood up to his feet and was ready to leave when he bumped into a chest. when he looked up he met with doyoung. of course he did. "renjun? do you love me that much?" doyoung sneered. as if his body was suddenly working by itself, renjun stepped back. "i would think you would be trying to stay away from me instead of snooping around in my things...whatcha got there?" he peered down at renjun's small hands and noticed a stack of papers.

"none of your business." renjun was petrified. no words could truly describe how scared he was in that moment but he faked his confidence as he pushed past doyoung and tried to leave. tried. doyoung pulled him back by his wrist causing him to yelp.

"surely it is my business if you're in my office going through my files." renjun bit his lip as doyoung's grip on his arm was painfully tight. he tried to wriggle himself out of his grip but it only made matters worse. renjun let out a loud scream in pain when doyoung twisted his arm and pinned it behind his back. he took that opportunity to take the papers that renjun had with his free hand. "why are you suddenly so interested in yuta? does jaemin know about this?" renjun groaned in pain, still struggling to get out of that uncomfortable position. 

renjun's back was toward doyoung and his hands were up against his back so he couldn't do anything and he couldn't see what doyoung was going to do next. "i'll just have to teach you not go through my things, hm? you're so nosy." doyoung said teasingly. the way he spoke was revolting. almost as if he was trying to flirt with him. renjun tried to move away when doyoung came close to his ear from behind his back.

"remember when yuta marked you all along your pretty pale skin? he's just terrible isn't he? a drunk." doyoung softly kissed renjun's neck, he knew exactly what he was doing. it brought back memories that renjun didn't want to relive.

"p-please..." renjun begged through gritted teeth, his wrists were in so much pain, "you're hurting me..." renjun almost cried. doyoung found it amusing. he liked toying with yuta, but he liked playing with renjun much better. after some thinking, doyoung let go of renjun and grabbed only one of his arms instead.

"if you yell, i'll make sure you regret it. you and jaemin both." doyoung threatened before he dragged renjun into the hallway. some coworkers were there talking and walking around, and renjun felt helpless. he wanted to shout, tell everyone what was going on, but he hesitated. he didn't hesitate because doyoung threatened him, but because he threatened jaemin too. next thing he knew, renjun was pushed into a dark room and before he could react, the door was locked.

he should have been paying attention to what part of the office he was being dragged to, but now he doesn't have a clue where he is. he's in some closet and no one can hear him. he ran to the door quickly, banging on it and twisting the knob, "doyoung!" he shouted. there was no response. he was so close to getting what he needed yet so far. the next thing on his list was getting out of this foreign place.


	46. Chapter 46

renjun couldn't believe what he was about to do but it was the only way. he blindly went around the room, using his other senses to find some sort of light switch. when he found it, he was nervous to see what else was in the room with him when the lights came on. when the lights came on, renjun was right when he predicted he was in some supply closet. what scared him was when he noticed he wasn't alone. he turned around and his body jolted when he made eye contact with another human, he calmed down when he realized who it was.

"jaemin? how did you—" renjun didn't even bother to finish his question, he just ran up to jaemin and wrapped his arms around the aforementioned's neck. the younger hugged him back, burying his face in renjun's neck. his familiar scent was always comforting.

"why didn't you say anything when doyoung first put me in here?" 

"i didn't know it was you, i wanted to startle whoever it was just in case. i was looking for a key..." jaemin replied, "but now i don't care because you're here now. i could stay in here forever." renjun pushed the younger away and went back to finding an escape. 

"got it! nana, follow me." jaemin walked over to where renjun was in the corner of the closet. there was a vent in the top corner in the wall and jaemin felt his stomach do a million flips.

"i think you should go alone. i'll just wait here and you can get help." renjun frowned at jaemin's words, "we'll definitely fall through the ceiling if we go together." renjun thought about it before he shrugged his shoulders.

"at least we'll be together," renjun giggled. jaemin smiled too, "let's go." 

renjun and jaemin had been crawling through the vent for a while now. it felt like a road trip. there were complaints, stomach growls, and no one knew how much longer it would take to get to their destination. suddenly renjun stopped moving causing jaemin to bump into renjun's bum. "ow! why'd you stop?"

"i didn't think this through, nana." renjun said. jaemin sighed, he couldn't have renjun give up on this now. "where are we even going?" 

"just keep moving and look for a room we can stop in through the vents." jaemin was glad he came with renjun because he would have gotten lost without him. the two continued to crawl when they suddenly heard footsteps and talking. they both froze in their tracks.

"where the hell are they?" 

"doyoung? what are you doing at the office still? we're closing soon." renjun almost fainted at that. they knew they had to get out before closing time or it would be dark, scary, and the doors would be locked.

"hello, sir. i was just looking for my paper work." jaemin was able to watch the scene through the vents. johnny and doyoung were both standing in the middle of the hallway. he watched as doyoung hid some papers behind his back.

"what's that?"

"oh, these? it's nothing. i'll go put them away." doyoung walked past johnny and the older snatched the papers from his grasp as he did so. 

"nakamoto yuta? why do you have his files? shouldn't they be up in my office?" johnny scanned through the papers. doyoung had no excuse now. "go home, doyoung. when you come in tomorrow, come straight to my office." johnny didn't leave until he saw doyoung was long gone. 

"that's was close—" 

renjun's words were interrupted by the loud crashing noises of the ceiling caving in. debris was everywhere and the two fell hard, landing on the tile floor beneath them. the halls were covered in white and material from the ceiling. jaemin could barley see, but he looked up and saw a giant hole in which they fell from. 

"i'm not even surprised anymore." johnny sighed. jaemin stood up and helped renjun up too. they tried to dust off the debris as best as they could but it was no use. all three of them couldn't help but start coughing as the debris started to mess with their lungs. "let's leave before this really gets into our lungs." johnny led the two to the first floor and he couldn't help but laugh at their state.

"what's so funny?"

johnny continued to laugh, he just waved his hands since he wasn't able to speak. jaemin and renjun couldn't help but laugh at each other as well. they did look pretty ridiculous. "okay, what happened?" johnny asked while wiping his tears away.

renjun explained what happened earlier from when he went into doyoung's office to when he fell through the ceiling. he was genuinely interested in how jaemin got in this mess too. "doyoung knew we saw the footage so he came to my office to bribe me so i wouldn't turn him in. he then lied and told me that it wasn't him in the footage and was going to show me the real footage. next thing i know, he pushed me into that closet. he's clearly just lying." 

"i just know we're getting shut down." johnny dragged his hand over his face, "so you were trying to get these?" he held up yuta's files.

"yes! i was gonna bring them to you to see if you already had his file and this one is just fake." 

"smart move." jaemin nodded, he was impressed. he held out his hand and renjun slapped it. he was proud too. johnny brought them to his office despite the debris that was going everywhere. he went through his filing cabinet for a while until he pulled out a file that was identical to the other one that renjun was currently holding. jaemin put them down side by side and compared them. 

"see any difference?" 

"doyoung's doesn't have an official signature nor stamp on it like this one does." jaemin noted, "and the experience certificates are saying two different things. doyoung's doesn't sound official while the other one does. it also includes a signature from yuta's former boss while doyoung's doesn't." 

"so doyoung was really trying to set yuta up?" johnny asked and the other two nodded, "but why?" jaemin looked to renjun, assuming he would know but he didn't. 

"i never thought of that. i guess i'll have to ask him, but right now we need to get this to jeno." jaemin nodded in agreement while johnny frowned in confusion.

"jeno?"

"mhm, none of this make sense now but it will when we're done. we'll all get what we deserve in the end." johnny averted his eyes, doubt evident in his expression. the younger two gave each other a sad and knowing look, "all of us," renjun said grabbing johnny's attention, "trust me."


	47. Chapter 47

renjun, jeno, and haechan were standing in the middle of the living room. renjun's living room as always. jeno was examining the files just like jaemin did before. haechan and renjun were just waiting in anticipation. "perfect."

"what?" haechan and renjun asked in unison.

"this gives more proof that doyoung deserves jail time, and it proves that yuta is somewhat innocent. he might have been a bystander and part of the issue, but this is proof that he had a valid reason as to why he had no choice but to agree." jeno explained. 

"okay great, now move. i don't want to waste time knowing doyoung is still walking around freely when he could be in jail where he belongs." haechan took his car keys out of his pocket and was the first one out. jeno and renjun both chuckled before following the younger out to the car. the closer they got to the police station, the more nervous they got.

the wait wasn't long at all when they walked in, the three were taken into the officers office immediately. "you said you have footage of a man drugging another at a local bar?" the man asked as he sat down. haechan and renjun pushed jeno forward, their eyes fixated on the floor. "don't be scared, guys. have a seat." the officer chuckled. 

the two best friends raised their heads, their eyes landing on the one and only chair beside the officers desk. they both knew what the other was thinking as they dashed over to the seat, pushing and shoving each other out of the way. jeno just watched in embarrassment, he felt as if he was back in high school with them all over again. when the two realized what they were doing, they stopped. 

"sorry about t-that..." renjun bowed. haechan took that opportunity to sit on the chair while renjun just sat on his lap. the officer laughed. 

"don't be, it's free entertainment," he joked, "now let's get down to business." he said to jeno. the aforementioned showed the officer the footage from the bar, which made renjun and haechan more nervous. they were acting as if they were going to get arrested. "do you know who these people are?" 

"yes, sir. kim doyoung, na jaemin, mark lee, and nakamoto yuta." jeno pointed to the computer screen, "doyoung here put that substance in jaemin's drink right...here." jeno replayed the scene. 

"nakamoto yuta was involved too?" 

"yes! but he's innocent!"

"yeah he didn't mean any harm!"

"he didn't even drug jaemin."

"nope!" 

the two best friends were visibly nervous now. the officer noticed this and called another officer into the room. "can you get these two some water?" he asked and the officer left to get the two some water. "now what do you guys mean by that?" he turned to them. renjun opened his mouth but nothing came out, haechan did the same. they felt like they were in middle school all over again. they were suddenly too nervous to speak.

"i guess you're the speaker, huh?"

"i guess so." jeno smiled.

—

everything went well. jeno explained everything and showed the officer the documents doyoung had faked on yuta, he knew about his little threat and everything. they just needed to do a little bit more investigating before they did anything just yet. though they did bring the people jeno listed inside to ask them questions.

"are you guys okay? you were really nervous back there?" jeno asked. he had to drive them home since the two were shaking so much. they also ended up having to wait outside while jeno stayed inside the office because they were so nervous.

"we're fine," haechan looked over at renjun who nodded, "we just never thought we would be part of something like this, but who cares now? i'm hungry." the trio picked up chenle and jisung and then invited jaemin over to renjun's apartment. they discussed how everything went over their chinese food at renjun's island table in the kitchen.

"so what's your next move, officer renjun?" jaemin asked.

"now that doyoung should be going to jail soon, we can get ten out." jeno looked unsure of that, "what? it's possible."

"it's possible but expensive. there are a lot of steps to that. we can't just pay them and get ten after that. it just doesn't work that way." 

"you're so boring," jisung sighed as he stuffed his mouth with rice.

"i know, we didn't need to know all of that boring stuff, jeno." jeno rolled his eyes while everyone laughed. even though it was somewhat annoying, he missed this. being with every one and hanging out like this.

"hey, aren't we missing someone?" 

"sorry!" the front door slammed shut, "i worked a later shift today." 

haechan grinned, "so nice of you to join us, mark. you're lucky you came after jeno ruined the fun. we're trying get ten out of jail, like some badass guys in a movie, but jeno ruined it."

"as always." the younger ones chimed in. 

—

renjun was getting more nervous and more doubtful as jeno had to keep going to the police station for more evidence and questioning. he was relieved that he had already got the evidence in advance or the process would have been a lot longer. today, renjun decided to go along with jeno to the police station so he could ask about bailing ten out.

"mr. huang! i haven't seen you since the first day you all came down here." the officer smiled.

"you can call me renjun, sir. i came here ask you if it's possible to bail my friend out of jail." the officer motioned for the two to follow him back into his office.

"you don't seem like you would be friends with someone in jail." 

"he isn't some criminal, sir," renjun's tone was a little more harsh than he intended, "he was angry at my...uhh..."

"boyfriend."

renjun glared at jeno, "y-yeah...he was mad at him for making me upset so he hit him. we're all friends so we forgave each other but he was still put in jail since that's bad and everything. he just doesn't deserve to be in there compared to other people." renjun sighed.

"ohh, i see. i remember hearing about that case last week in the court room. it was interesting. i never attended a court hearing were both sides were fighting for the same thing. it was just them against the judge." the officer said, recalling the events from before, "it's pretty expensive and a really long process." he sighed.

"told you..."

renjun smacked jeno's arm before they turned back to the officer, "but because there wasn't anyone fighting for him to be locked up in the first place, it should be fairly easier than usual and maybe less expensive." jeno and renjun turned back to each other, their mouths hung open. renjun then squealed in excitement. the two hugged each other but pushed each other way after coming back to their senses. the officer laughed, "i'll see what i can do for you, renjun."

"thank you so much, sir! i really mean it!" 

"it's no problem. you can call me xiaojun."


	48. Chapter 48

! finale !

haechan, jeno, and renjun. the iconic trio went down to the police station for what felt like that fifteenth time they did so. this time they heard good news from xiaojun who they took a liking to. he was very sweet and he helped them out a lot throughout this chaotic mess. "yes, we finally have good news," xiaojun's smile was wide, "doyoung was arrested and he is still claiming he didn't commit the act while evidence proves otherwise."

"that's great!" 

"yes, it is." a deep voice interrupted. everyone turned there head to jaemin who was leaning on the door frame comfortably. he looked down at renjun with that same bright, adoring look in his eyes. 

"quit sneaking up on me." renjun hit his chest playfully before hugging him tightly. it felt good to be in jaemin's arms again be he wouldn't admit. not then at least. before he was tired of being sad, manipulated, and crying all of the time. now he was tired of fighting.

"thank you, xiaojun. you guys too. i appreciate you guys fighting for me." jaemin thanked, he then looked down at renjun, "and thank you the most. you're like my little soldier." renjun made gagging noises as he pushed the younger away.

"you're so cheesy." 

what really surprised him wasn't when jaemin made an appearance, it wasn't doyoung getting what he deserved, but it was when his partner in crime had walked in from behind jaemin. that bright smile still on his face. renjun missed him the most. both haechan and renjun ran up to the older and nearly tackled him to the ground.

"ten! how've you been? we missed you so much!"

"wait, what happened to your eye?" everyone was smiling and enjoying the reunion but that all stopped when they noticed the cut on ten's eye too. "you look like anakin skywalker." haechan continued. ten frowned and reached up to to his eye, he look down at his hand before he laughed.

"it's makeup. i forgot, i put it on because i wanted to look cool. now i can tell people i've been to jail once and i'm not afraid to go back."

"no, no. no more trouble for you." 

"if you get in trouble again, i'll be going to jail with you for beating you up." haechan said making everyone laugh.

"i'm glad i could do this for you all. be safe guys!" the group left, saying their goodbyes before going their separate ways. of course jaemin drove renjun back to his apartment like always. 

"i'm really proud of you, injunni. you've been fighting for so long, you deserve some rest." jaemin's voice was so soothing. renjun almost fell asleep so he just hummed in response. the younger chuckled, taking renjun's hand in his larger one's. 

—

everything was almost back to normal. ten and johnny were finally back and as happy as ever. jeno was getting along with his friend group again, and jaemin and renjun were finally back together after the emotional roller coaster and the many adventures they went on together. jeno had proved that he still cared when he helped get to the bottom of everything for renjun and jaemin's sake. 

though this was a great start, jeno's friendship with everyone wasn't the same and would never be the same after what he did. because ten went to jail, that stayed on his record. jaemin and renjun had that tear in there relationship but none of this mattered anymore. everyone was willing to move forward and accept the fact that they all fucked up somewhere, and who were they to judge each other?

jaemin moved out of his luxurious yet small house and moved to an even bigger one. he proposed to renjun with the idea that they should move in together and renjun couldn't agree more. renjun's apartment was deeply missed by all of his friends since it was their meet spot, but now it was their house that was made the new meet spot. and jaemin didn't mind it at all.

everyone stilled stayed in contact with each other, but the department had shut down just like johnny predicted. the workers who would only come to seoul for trips just went back to the writing department in china for the same company. johnny and ten ended up moving there to keep making money to support themselves, but johnny was no longer the boss, it was kun. especially not after what happened. 

—

it was five thirty in the evening and the two males were in the middle of watching memoirs of a geisha. it was renjun's favorite movie though he had to get up and shower at some point. he didn't want to leave the warmth of the other as they sat, legs intertwined, renjun's head leaning on jaemin's shoulder. renjun began to separate himself from the younger as he stood.

"i'm going to take a shower, i won't be long." he said, squeezing jaemin's hand in reassurance. jaemin didn't want to let him go, he just wanted to continue to shower his lover with affection. 

renjun went up to his room anyways to get his cloth and towel and headed into the bathroom to start the water. after taking off his clothes, he stepped into the warm stream of water, relishing the feeling of it flowing onto his body. as he turned back around to reach for his shampoo he met another hand. renjun yelped, almost slipping until he realized it was just his boyfriend.

"jaemin," he sighed in relief, "you scared me! why are you in here?" he squeaked, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment. jaemin smirked slightly as the older male tried to cover himself. trying not to pay too much attention to the older, jaemin turned his attention back to the shampoo bottle, grabbing it. he didn't want to embarrass renjun, he wanted him to relax and trust him. 

"turn around for me." jaemin said. renjun's eyes widened, "i'm not going to pull anything weird. just trust me." jaemin chuckled. renjun nodded slowly before turning around, his back towards the younger.

jaemin poured some shampoo onto his hands before massaging it into the older's hair, working it into his scalp. his gentle movements relaxed renjun, causing his eyes to slightly close.

"don't get too comfortable. we can't have you falling asleep in the shower, now can we?" jaemin teased. renjun smiled slightly as he continued to enjoy the massage. 

after rinsing the latter's hair, jaemin took his washcloth covering it in soap and began caressing renjun's skin gently, as if he was scared to hurt him. renjun had to admit he was a little nervous that jaemin was in the shower with him, not to mention washing him. he was going to fight it but he knew the younger boy was insistent. besides, renjun enjoyed being pampered and the warm feeling he was getting out of it. 

of course, renjun just couldn't let jaemin wash himself after he just did all that for him. so renjun washed jaemin's hair and his muscular body just as he did for him. sure, it was little harder since he was short, but it was all worth it. the two finished their shower and wrapped themselves in towels as they stepped out of the bathroom that was so humid, a sauna would be envious. 

jaemin went into his drawer and gave renjun one of his yellow hoodies to put on while he took out a t-shirt for himself. both males then put on a pair of briefs before settling down on renjun's bed. 

"you're so kind to me." renjun whispered to jaemin, the younger laid his head on rejun's lap looking up at him while the older sat against the headboard. 

"it's nothing really. i'm just giving you what you deserve." jaemin smiled as renjun rolled his eyes at the cheesy response, "im glad you enjoyed it." jaemin sat up and pulled the boy close to him as he was now lying beside the older, his face nuzzled in the nape of his neck, inhaling his comforting scent.

"of course i enjoyed it. i enjoy every moment i spend with you, silly." renjun replied.

jaemin sighed, satisfied with his lover's response. as long as renjun knew and felt how much he loved him, he was more than happy. 

"good. because you're going to be spending the rest of your life seeing this face." jaemin said pointing to himself. renjun giggled hitting his chest softly before pecking the younger's lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unfortunately that's the end of the story guys :(
> 
> thank you so much for reading and supporting my writing, i can't say this enough! that last bit of fluff was a quick oneshot i wrote a while back and it's what gave me the idea to write this book. i really hope you guys enjoyed it. a lot happened in the story so i wanted to give you guys a happy ending.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy the book, I'll be sure to work hard! ಥ‿ಥ


End file.
